Christianity and Industry: Ten 


WHY NOT TRY 
CHRISTIANITY? 


BY 

SAMUEL ZANE BATTEN, D. D. 

CHAIRMAN, SOCIAL SERVICE COMMISSION, 
NORTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 

Author of “ The New Citizenship,” “ The Christian 
State,” “ The Social Task of Christianity,” 

“If America Fall,” etc. 


“The condition of the World is an ultimatum 
to Christianity”— Sir Edward Grey 


NEW 



YORK 


GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 


Fifteen Cents Net 


Monograph 



COPYRIGHT, 1923, 

BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 


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PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

JUN 28 I923_ 

Cl A7 11051 


2>”Rus 


CONTENTS 

Page 

THE QUESTION. 5 

THE LESSON OF HISTORY. 7 

THE FAILURE OF MEN.14 

THE CHALLENGE OF THE HOUR.32 

THE POWER OF CHRISTIANITY .39 

THE FINAL TEST .47 















WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 


THE QUESTION 

The present is one of the fateful hours in the world's 
history. One age is passing and a new age is struggling 
to be born. Old leases are running out and new ones are 
demanded. There has probably never been an hour when 
so many questions were coming up for a hearing. The 
sign manual of today is an interrogation point rampant. 
What we call our horizon is a line of question marks. 
These questions sweep the circle and deal with all aspects 
of life. The Sphinx is sitting by the roadside in our 
Western world and is propounding her fateful riddles to 
the people. 

But perhaps the most searching and insistent questions 
of all, relate to religion. These have to do, not with 
forms of organization and statements of doctrine, for 
men have little interest in such matters. These questions 
have to do rather with the very reality and essential 
value of Christianity itself. Is Christianity the perfect 
and final religion? Is the Gospel the power of God unto 
the salvation both of men and of society? Do the teach¬ 
ings of Christ apply to all life and will they work in the 
present order? But even more insistent questions are 
being asked. If Christ has come to save the world and 
establish the Kingdom of God, why has the Gospel no 
larger results to show? Does not the condition of the 
world prove that the churches have been unfaithful to 
their trust, or that the Gospel they profess is weak and 
incapable of meeting the larger needs of the world? What 
right have the churches, in view of the world situation, 
to claim the Christian name? The churches stand 
arraigned at the bar of public opinion, and it is perfectly 
fatuous for churchmen to resent these questions or to 
avoid the issue. 


5 


6 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 


For nineteen hundred years the Gospel has been known 
and its power confessed. Yet questions concerning its 
vitality and value have never been so insistent as now. 
What lies behind the questioning of our day and gives 
such urgency to these questions? Some one asked Phil¬ 
lips Brooks if he did not think that Christianity had 
failed; and the great preacher replied: “Why bless you, 
man, it has never been tried.” Accepting this judgment, 
we yet ask, why has it not been tried? Perhaps the com¬ 
ment of Chesterton may suggest the answer: “Chris¬ 
tianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been 
found difficult and not tried.” But this only throws the 
inquiry a little farther back. For is not the Gospel sup¬ 
posed to create that state of mind in men which will lead 
them to follow their Master whithersoever he goeth? 
This brings us to the severe statement of Graham Wallas: 
“If a religion which has existed for two thousand years 
and has been held officially by most powerful nations in 
the world for fifteen hundred years has not been tried, 
it has failed.” 

All this raises some questions which the churches must 
face. Why has Christianity not been tried? What might 
it do today if it were really tried? Will the men who 
profess to be Christ’s disciples find out what the Gospel 
means and go the whole length in proving the Gospel’s 
power? There are those who say that Christianity faces 
the greatest crisis and supremest challenge of its long 
history. At any rate these questions carry us into the 
very heart of the situation. 


THE LESSON OF HISTORY 


The Gospel arose in one of the darkest hours of the 
world’s history, when it had everything against it. It 
came to men who wero sunk in sin and hopelessness and 
brought a message of life and light; and everywhere 
miracles were wrought in the name of Christ. A new 
creative spirit brooded over the abyss of degradation, and 
lo, a new type of manhood stood erect with face upturned 
to heaven and seeking after the highest perfection. More 
than that, the Christian spirit affected the relation of man 
and woman and created the Christian family. Beyond 
that, it created that fellowship of faith known as the 
Christian church. Beyond all this it created the great 
missionary enterprise, one of the romances of history, one 
of the finest achievements of the Christian spirit and one 
of the clearest evidences of the Christian power. No 
doubt about it, great things have been done in the name 
of Christ of which history will tell “till the last syllable 
of recorded time.” Like a mighty conqueror the Son of 
Man has marched down the centuries, lifting up the 
fallen, saving the lost, striking the shackles from millions 
of men, rebuking a wrong here, ending an abuse there, 
lifting the gates of great empires from their hinges and 
changing the whole drift of history. No one who studies 
history with impartial mind can minimize these achieve¬ 
ments. 

But the student of history will be puzzled at some of 
the things he finds. He sees the Gospel going forth con¬ 
quering and to conquer. He sees men cherishing great 
ideals and filled with holy enthusiasm. But ever and 
again he sees the Christian disciples pausing in their 
march and beginning to hesitate. There is an arrest of 
progress, a slackening of effort. Then comes a wavering 
and sometimes a decline. Men go a long way with Jesus 
Christ toward the Kingdom; but they fail to go the full 
7 


8 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 


length with him. The Gospel does great things in men 
and in churches; but it leaves great areas of life unre¬ 
deemed and unmoralized. Today there are millions of 
souls who believe in Christ and profess allegiance; there 
are great churches with their organization, numbers, 
wealth and influence. And yet here is Christendom with 
its pains and evils; here are our cities with their abysmal 
slums, their degradation, their hopeless lives. After these 
centuries of Christianity, here is Christendom, the heavi¬ 
est handicap that Christianity has to bear. It might be 
possible for the nations to believe in Christianity if it 
were not for Christendom. In a brief and rapid review 
we may note some of the facts and then search for the 
causes-. 

The first century was a time of promise and hope. The 
early disciples were full of zeal for the Master and right 
earnestly they set about the work before them. Within 
a generation of the time that Jesus ascended from Olivet 
it could be said that the Gospel had been preached in 
every nation under heaven. For a time it seemed that 
the disciples would go all the way with Christ and the 
nations would be won unto the Kingdom of God. But 
as we pass out of the first century into the second, we 
find that a change is coming over the life of the churches. 
The zeal of men wanes, the churches become cold and 
formal, and the leaders begin to compromise and hesitate. 
In time the light of the churches grows dim, and in many 
a city the light went out and the candlestick was removed. 
In Western Asia and Northern Africa, the lands where 
the Gospel was first known, Christianity is largely a spent 
force and the crescent has displaced the cross. 

In the course of time the Gospel passed westward to 
Europe, to Italy and Spain, to France and Germany. 
Here it entered upon a great career of conquest and 
seemed about to establish the Kingdom of God. Millions 
of disciples were won; great churches were built; great 
theologies were formulated. For a time the Roman Em¬ 
pire disputed the way with the church and sought to 
exterminate the cause of Christ. Then Rome roused 
itself by o e supreme effort to destroy this new religion. 
The doors of the Coliseum were shut, and empire and 


THE LESSON OF HISTORY 


r 

church struggled in deadly conflict. By and by the doors 
of the Coliseum were opened, and the church came forth 
from its baptism of blood and radiant with the crown of 
victory. 

The church had now won a place for itself in the world 
and had practically become supreme over all life. Its 
voice dictated the policies of nations; its decree made 
and unmade kings. The church did great things for men 
and nations. Within the peaceful shelter of the church 
the most saintly lives were developed and the most 
Christly virtues were fostered; many evils in society were 
attacked and ended; childhood was protected and the 
condition of women was improved. Humane laws were 
passed and hospitals and orphanages were built; educa¬ 
tion was encouraged and much was done to make life 
sweet and happy. 

But alas, there is a pause in the march, an arrest of 
development, a failure to go all the way with the Gospel. 
The church did much to win lives to Christ and to amelio¬ 
rate human conditions; but it did little to redeem life 
as a whole. In the personal virtues, the Middle Ages, 
the ages of the church’s supremacy, were far in advance 
of pre-Christian times. Life was purer than in the old 
world. But in civic virtues, as Lecky has shown, the 
Middle Ages were distinctly below the best Grecian and 
Roman life. The church praised education, yet allowed 
the people to remain in ignorance. It built great cathe¬ 
drals in whose shadows the most hopeless poverty flour¬ 
ished. It praised charity, but did nothing to find and 
remove the causes of poverty. Within certain ranges the 
church was potent; but it allowed great areas of life to 
remain untouched and unredeemed. It made church 
saints, but it did not make good citizens. It prepared 
men for heaven, but it did not build heaven on earth. 

Once again, in the Reformation period, a great advance 
was begun. The Reformation was a great movement 
from every point of view and marked a new era in human 
progress. The shoulder of God was behind the rising 
tide, and we of today feel the ground swell of that mighty 
movement. The Gospel was rediscovered and restored; 
the soul was emancipated and man stood upon his feet 


10 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 


in new-found hope. For a time it seemed that the rising 
tide would sweep everything before it and bring in the 
Kingdom of God. Thus Macaulay tells us that within 
fifty years of the time that Luther nailed his theses to the 
church door at Wittemberg, Romanism could hardly 
maintain itself on the shores of the Mediterranean. But 
once again there was a pause, a change, a shifting of 
emphasis, a failure to go the full length with the Gospel. 
The reformers forgot the Reformation and began to 
debate and fight over questions of doctrine. The leaders 
tried to keep on good terms with kings and princes, and 
so avoided questions of justice and right. The years pass 
and, as Macaulay says, fifty years later Protestantism lost 
its power and could hardly maintain itself on the shores 
of the Baltic. 

The Reformation has done much for the world in many 
ways. It has broken the chains upon the soul and has 
taught man to stand upon his feet. It has inspired the 
democratic movement that has shaken kings from their 
thrones and has lifted the people into citizenship. It 
has emphasized individuality and initiative and has 
created modern literature and science. Yet, with it all, 
the Reformation has failed to secure the largest and 
longest results. There is an arrested development, a 
pausing in mid career, a failure to apply the Gospel to 
all life and to seek the whole Kingdom of God. 

Coming down to our time, we face a situation that is 
most disturbing. In modern Europe the condition is 
alarming and seriously discredits Christianity; certainly 
it fatally discredits the type of Christianity that has pre¬ 
vailed. Europe is the one continent that has received 
Christianity; here it has been known for eighteen hundred 
years, and has had time to show what it can do. Yet the 
churches as a whole have not known what Christianity 
means; at any rate they have not given Jesus Christ a 
chance. The nations have grown up under the tutelage 
of the churches, yet the churches have failed to lead the 
people in the way of Christ. The churches failed to create 
in the people calling themselves Christians, a Christian 
state of mind, which would have made the world war 
impossible. Again, when peace came, the failure of the 



THE LESSON OF HISTORY 


11 


nations was even more tragic. Men forgot the high hopes 
that were expressed during the w^ar; they set out to crush 
their enemies and to exact punitive reparations; the most 
selfish schemes were written into the Peace Treaty; and 
it is not a Treaty of Peace, but a seed plot of future wars. 
The condition of Europe at this time signifies the bank¬ 
ruptcy of the type of Christianity that has long prevailed. 

In other lands the situation is not much more encour¬ 
aging. In America the churches have grown strong; and 
we have some two hundred and thirty thousand churches 
with some forty-five million members. These represent 
a large part of the intelligence and wealth, the power and 
influence of the country. It is far within the truth to say 
that two-thirds of the more capable and intelligent people 
of the country believe in Christ and are affiliated with 
the churches. The time has gone by when Christians 
can say that they are a feeble folk without numbers or 
power. There is intelligence enough, conscience enough, 
religion enough in any community in America to trans¬ 
form it from top to bottom, to purify recreation, to abol¬ 
ish slums, to humanize industry and ensure honest and 
capable city government. 

The condition of things in modern Christendom is well 
calculated to arouse questioning and fear. Why has 
Christianity no larger results to show after its long his¬ 
tory? Why has the salt not purified and sweetened the 
community? Was it not possible to prevent the growth 
of slums in our cities with all the evils that flourish in 
these moral quagmires? Why do we have so much strife 
in the industrial world? Why has Christianity not abol¬ 
ished war? Why did it not prevent the world war, which 
was a war of Christian peoples? Could not Christianity 
have created a state of mind in the peoples of Europe 
who professed allegiance to Christ which would have 
made this world calamity impossible? There is a tragic 
failure somewhere, and any effort to obscure this fact is 
useless. 

For, be it remembered, these things we have considered 
are not found in pagan lands. They are found rather in 
lands that have long known Christianity; they are found 
among men and peoples that have professed faith in 


12 WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 

Christ and have prayed for His Kingdom. The men at 
strife in industry are mainly Christian men. The churches 
have determined the ideals of the nations and have con¬ 
trolled the education of the people. The leaders in the 
nations that began the war and carried it on with such 
frightfulness were professed followers of Jesus Christ. 
The men who framed the Treaty of Peace and guided 
the policies of nations, practically all were sons of the 
churches. 

As we survey the history of the past and study the 
conditions of the world today, we are puzzled at what 
we find. Something has gone wrong. There is failure 
somewhere. Surely no man can say that all this is what 
Christianity means and this is all that it can do. Surely 
no one will say that all this is what Jesus Christ expected 
of men or intended his Gospel to do. In age after age, 
in many lands, the Gospel has been at work doing great 
things for God and man and giving promise of the Chris¬ 
tianization of the world. And yet in every age and land 
we find the church pausing in its career and stopping 
short of the largest success; there is a failure on the part 
of Christian people to go the whole length with Christ 
and seek the whole Kingdom of God. There is a failure 
on the part of the church to keep its place and make its 
calling and election sure. And in the lands where Chris¬ 
tianity has been the longest known, we find that the 
nations are ruined by deadly wars and civilization faces 
collapse. 

Such are some of the facts as they appear in history. 
Now what explanation can we offer for such meagre 
results? There are several possible explanations, and 
these may be stated. 

One explanation says that it is due to the nature of 
Christianity itself; to the fact that it is a purely personal 
religion. It is potent enough in the individual life; but 
it is weak and hesitating in the wider ranges of society. 
Another closely related explanation says that Christianity 
is a spiritual religion, that it deals with man’s inner and 
spiritual life, that Christ’s mission is to save souls out 
of the world and prepare them for life in heaven. For 
this reason it has little concern with this world and has 


THE LESSON OF HISTORY ’ 13 

no call to change social conditions. Still another explana¬ 
tion teaches that in the present the Gospel is to be 
preached for a witness; that we are not to expect the 
transformation of society, but the coming of Christ; and 
so nothing can be done in the way of social change till 
Christ returns to set up His Kingdom. A fourth explana¬ 
tion says that the failure is due rather to the weakness 
of men themselves, to their misundertanding of the 
Master and their unwillingness to apply His teachings 
in their fullness. 

Which explanation shall we accept? Shall we say 
that Jesus was a mystic and a dreamer, with a message 
for the individual soul but no message for society and 
nations? No one who honors the Master and believes 
in Him as a prophet from God can accept that explana¬ 
tion. Shall we say with many that Christ has come to 
save souls out of the world but has no call to improve 
the world and change human society? But He says 
expressly that He “came not to condemn the world, but 
to save the world;” and He bids His disciples pray that 
His Kingdom may come on earth as in heaven. Shall 
we therefore conclude that the failure is due to men 
themselves, to the fact that they have misunderstood 
Christ’s purpose, have misplaced the emphasis in thought 
and effort, and have been unwilling to obey him fully? 
In a word, to the fact that Christianity has never really 
been tried? Those who believe in Jesus Christ as the 
Son of God will be compelled to accept the latter expla¬ 
nation, however humbling it may be to ourselves. 


THE FAILURE OF MEN 


In seeking to account for the limited success of the 
Gospel, we must recognize the fact that the Gospel works 
in men and through men. Jesus called men into his 
service to be heralds of the Gospel and builders of the 
Kingdom; and he must use such means as he can find. 
The first disciples were men, with all the weaknesses and 
limitations of men. The Master was not limited in him¬ 
self, but he was limited by those through whom he 
worked. As it was in that first century, so it has ever 
been since. The children of the Kingdom are yet chil¬ 
dren of men—weak, limited, full of prejudices and pre¬ 
possessions, loving Christ indeed but never fully Christ- 
like. All, even the best of men, misunderstand the 
Christ; some deny him at times; many go part of the 
way with Christ but few go all the way. Men receive 
the Gospel of the Kingdom and then reduce it to the 
small dimensions of their own ideas. No doubt about it, 
the Gospel has had very unpromising material to work 
upon and to work with. With such poor workmen it is 
not strange that the Gospel has made such small head¬ 
way and the Kingdom is yet unbuilt. 

Yet this is not the last word by any means; for the 
Gospel is here to renew and transform men. It is here 
to fill men with zeal and make dynamic lives. The power 
that wrought in Christ when it raised him from the dead, 
is seeking to work in men. And this Christ can do ex¬ 
ceedingly abundantly above all that men can ask or 
think, according to the very power that works in them. 
There must be some explanation of the failure of men 
other than the mere failure of their devotion and virtue. 
The failure of men to follow Christ and seek the whole 
Kingdom, is the very thing that requires explanation. 
And as we review the history of Christianity several 
things become quite plain. 


14 


THE FAILURE OF MEN 


15 


First, is the failure of men to see and seek the whole 
Kingdom of God. The Son of Man gave to the world the 
great idea of the Kingdom of God and charged his dis¬ 
ciples to live for the Kingdom and seek its righteousness. 
That idea as it went forth from the Master was a great 
social ideal, the hope of a City of God on earth where 
men know God as Father and live together as brothers, 
a righteous social order built upon the will of God filled 
with his justice. 

But from the first men failed to enter into the Master’s 
thought and few rose to the height of his vision. For a 
time the early disciples cherished the hope of the King¬ 
dom and interpreted all duty in its light. But as we 
pass from the first century into the second, we find that 
a change is coming over the minds of men. As the gen¬ 
erations pass and men move away from the Master, his 
ideal falls into the background and other ideals take its 
place. This process continues, and by the close of the 
fourth century the substitution is complete. Some 
thought of the Kingdom of God as a purely personal and 
inward thing. To seek the Kingdom of God meant to 
seek the salvation of man’s own soul. Very early many 
came to think of the church as the Kingdom, and sub¬ 
stituted this for Christ’s great ideal. This conception 
and misconception have become historic in the Roman 
Catholic branch of Christendom; though it appears also 
in the Protestant world. Still others, going to the other 
extreme, have thought of the Kingdom of God as the 
Kingdom in heaven. There is no kingdom here; this 
world is lost and doomed; our true home is elsewhere; 
so we must strive and hope till we can reach the heavenly 
Kingdom. Thus from one cause and another the idea 
of the Kingdom of God has dropped out of the current 
of Christian thought and men have interpreted Christ’s 
purpose in other terms than the Kingdom. Down to our 
own day the great mass of the people do not know what 
we mean by the Kingdom of God; for fifteen hundred 
years the rank and file of the people thought of the 
church when they spoke of the Kingdom of God. 

The disappearance of the idea of the Kingdom of God 
has wrought havoc in the lives of men. It changed their 


16 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 


conception of God’s purpose in our world and the scope 
of Christ’s redemption. It changed their outlook upon 
the world and their work in life. It led them to misread 
the will of God and to think small the hopes of the 
Gospel. It narrowed their program and misplaced the 
emphasis in their thought and effort. This initial failure 
and misconception is the chief cause of all the other 
misconceptions of the Gospel and the failures of the 
church. This fundamental error was the parent of nearly 
all the heresies that have plagued the world for eighteen 
hundred years. The indifference of men to the words of 
Christ and their neglect of the Kingdom of God, con¬ 
stitute the standing scandal of the ages. Ritschl is war¬ 
ranted in the saying that “Since the second century 
nothing has less guided the church in its efforts for moral 
renewal than the idea of the Kingdom of God in the 
sense in which Christ and his apostles used the term.” 
Another and a partial idea has been accepted as a sub¬ 
stitute for the great divine Gospel which Jesus gave. 
The world has suffered much from the wrong thinking 
of bad men; but it has suffered even more from the small 
thinking of good men. 

Second: Men have misplaced the emphasis in Chris¬ 
tian thought and life. The message of Jesus is so plain 
that it does not seem possible for any one to mistake it. 
He began his public ministry with the announcement: 
The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand ; 
change your ways and believe the Good News” (Mark 
1:14). In all his teaching certain truths are unmistak¬ 
able : “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy soul 
and with all thy mind and with all thy might. And thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two com¬ 
mandments hang all the law and the prophets. These 
things do and thou shalt live.” In all his teaching he 
threw supreme emphasis upon the love of God as proved 
in the love of men, and the love of men because they 
were children of God. He affirmed that justice, mercy 
and truth are the weightier matters of the law. He 
plainly declares that they who do the will of the Father 
in heaven are his disciples: “Not every one that saith 
unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of 


THE FAILURE OF MEN 


17 


God, but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in 
heaven.” And the great apostle declares that “the King¬ 
dom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, 
peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. He that in these 
things serveth Christ, is accepted of God and approved of 
men” (Rom. 14:17,18). He says again that circumcision 
is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing; but faith, 
which worketh by love. And John, who had leaned on 
Jesus’ bosom, declares: “He that doeth righteousness is 
righteous even as he is righteous.” “He that loveth is 
born of God and knoweth God” (I John 3:8; I John 
4:7). 

But very early, as we know, a change came over the 
life of the church and the emphasis was completely 
shifted. Professor Edwin Hatch in his Hibbert Lectures 
deals with one aspect of this subject and describes some 
of the influences at work in the first four centuries. He 
calls attention to the fact that in the Gospels the Sermon 
on the Mount is placed in the very forefront. That 
sermon embodies the teaching of Christ and has to do 
with life and conduct. We pass to the fourth century 
and find that the Sermon on the Mount has fallen into 
the background and the Nicene Creed stands in the very 
forefront. This is a metaphysical statement with no 
spiritual power or ethical demands. Dr. Hatch says that 
the significant thing here is not how did the Christian 
societies come to believe one proposition rather than the 
other; but how did they come into the frame of mind 
which attached first importance to the Creed but 
neglected the Sermon on the Mount? This substitution, 
as he also showed, “checked the progress of the Kingdom ; 
Christianity has won no great victories since its basis 
was changed.” 

This shifting of emphasis is seen all through the cen¬ 
turies and the results are most marked; first in the lives 
of Christians and the life of the churches. Almost from 
the beginning men lost sight of the plain requirements of 
Christ and placed their main emphasis elsewhere. They 
gave much of their time and energy to discussion of 
non-essentials and lost sight of the central truths of the 
Gospel. They made much of the mint and anise and 


IS 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 


cummin of the law and too often omitted the weightier 
matters of justice, love and brotherhood. Thus it came 
about, as Professor Hatch shows, that Christian disciple- 
ship came to mean the acceptance of doctrines and con¬ 
formity to church regulations; it no longer meant faith¬ 
ful obedience to Christ and the possession of His spirit; 
it no longer expressed itself as a passion for righteous¬ 
ness and a life of service. The consequence was that the 
churches lacked moral passion and were too well content 
with low standards of morality; they have not insisted 
upon holiness and righteousness, justice and service on 
the part of their members; many of their people have 
not seen that the Christian profession was itself a sum¬ 
mons to righteous living. The churches have not made 
men realize that they who name the name of Christ are 
to depart from all iniquity and are called to live His kind 
of life. 

The other result is, that the churches have misplaced 
the emphasis in their policies and have quarrelled over 
the lesser matters of the law. For long centuries the 
main attention of church bodies has been given to church 
orders and succession, forms of ordinances and methods 
of church government; and they have made these things 
the foundation of their churches and the test of church 
fellowship. Nine-tenths of the things that divide the 
churches have to do with the external and non-essential 
elements of Christianity. Nine-tenths of the divisions 
of Christendom would never have occurred if men had 
been concerned with essential truths. To this day the 
things that divide the churches are not the weightier 
matters of justice, love and mercy; they are rather the 
incidental questions of apostolic succession, modes of 
church government and statements of metaphysics. The 
things that Jesus died to destroy,—forms, postures, ex¬ 
ternal profession, modes of ordination,—have been ex¬ 
alted by the church and have been made the tests of 
church membership. The things that Jesus died to 
establish,—justice, love, mercy, unity,—the churches 
have often forgotten and sometimes ignored. Thus the 
Gospel which began as a spirit, hardened into an institu¬ 
tion. And institutional religion, as Dean Inge shows, 


THE FAILURE OF MEN 


19 


does not represent the Gospel of Christ. It is contrary 
to the genius of Christianity; and it substitutes an ex¬ 
ternal form for a living spirit. 

Two illustrations of this misplaced emphasis of the 
churches may be noted: though innumerable instances 
might be cited. About the middle of the fifteenth cen¬ 
tury Constantinople was besieged by the Turks under 
Mohammed II. and the garrison was in sore straits. In 
those critical hours the priests of the Greek church were 
called to leave their cloistered dwellings and monasteries 
and by their presence at the walls to revive the wavering 
faith and courage of the people. Their reply was that 
they could not break in on the habitual order of their 
devotions and the appointed time for counting their 
beads, and so must be excused. Constantinople fell and 
has been under the domination of the Turks from that 
day. 

After the World War the nations were rent and torn 
with jealousies; the spirit of nationality, we are told, 
raged like a pestilence in Europe: each nation seemed 
determined to consider only its own interests and to 
ignore those of all the rest. Millions of hearts were sore 
and millions of children were neglected. That was an 
hour when the world needed a healing word of brother¬ 
hood and peace. That was an opportunity for the 
churches to witness for brotherhood and to affirm the 
principles of justice and unity. Had the churches known 
the time of their visitation they might have led the 
nations into peace and inspired them to build a more 
righteous world. But what were the churches doing? 
There were brave men in all churches who saw the op¬ 
portunity and tried to bring the churches to meet it. 
Yet in many great religious bodies we find that men were 
debating and dividing over questions of creeds and 
metaphysics. So the churches once more failed the 
world in a crisis. So the work of world reconstruction 
went by default so far as the churches were concerned. 

Third; because men lost the idea of the Kingdom of 
God and misplaced the emphasis in life, there has been 
a sad misdirection and waste of Christian effort. It is 
far within the truth to say that as a result of this, only 


20 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 


a fraction of the real power of Christianity has been 
available in the work of human redemption. 

The Gospel as it came from Jesus Christ was a great, 
vital, divine, human thing, a flaming passion for right¬ 
eousness, a burning enthusiasm for humanity. The early 
disciples believed in the Kingdom of God and lived for 
the day when the Kingdom was to fill the earth. But 
in the course of time the hope of the Kingdom of God 
fell into the background, the early hope of a kingdom on 
earth faded and men turned their eyes toward the far- 
off heavens. Religion became self-centred and self- 
regarding. The one passion of man was the saving of his 
own soul and its preparation for life in heaven. By the 
close of the fourth century the ascetic ideal was firmly 
established in the church and was the accepted standard 
for the Christian life. As a result, the Christian religion 
came to be regarded as something apart from the world 
of men and things; religion became the special interest 
of an ecclesiastical institution; goodness was measured 
by one’s detachedness from the world and its concerns; 
Christians were called to serve the world as they passed 
through it on their way to the Celesial City; but they 
had no vocation to transform and save it; to grow in 
grace and to prepare oneself for heaven, one must in¬ 
sulate oneself from the world and reduce the points of 
contact to the lowest minimum. 

This conception of the Christian life has had a marked 
influence upon men and has called forth some splendid 
efforts of the human soul. All through the Middle Ages 
there was a succession of saints whose devotion shames 
us today. Earnest and devout men and women by the 
tens of thousands withdrew from the world to spend 
their days and nights in prayer and fasting, in meditation 
and vigils. In their efforts to grow in grace and attain 
spiritual power many souls broke all of the ties of life and 
retired to the lonely cell to spend the years of life in 
religious devotion and spiritual exercises. Others, as St. 
Simeon, climbed a pillar sixty feet high, living on its 
narrow top for many years in summer and winter and 
bowing themselves to their feet twelve hundred times a 
day. “What good to God or man came of it all?” asks 


THE FAILURE OF MEN 


21 


Brierley. “How weary heaven must be, if earth is not, 
of this everlasting repetition.” It is true that in the 
manuals of devotion of these saints a large place was 
given to charity and service; once every day there came 
to many of them some round of duty,—feeding the 
hungry, visiting the sick, sometimes kissing the beggar’s 
sores and giving one’s coat to clothe the naked. But we 
must not overlook the fact that much of this service was 
given not alone to help the needy, but to add to one’s 
store of spiritual credit. There was no study of the 
causes of human ills and no effort to change social con¬ 
ditions. 

There was something beautiful in all this devotion, as 
every one must admit. But, after all, what has come of 
it so far as the world is concerned? Never was there a 
finer zeal and devotion than was shown in this ascetic 
life; but never was there a more futile thing than all 
this asceticism. Three-fourths of all this devotion was 
simply wasted effort that neither pleased God nor helped 
the world. Suppose that half the devotion and effort 
that have gone into spiritual exercises had gone into the 
work of teaching the ignorant, dealing with the causes 
of poverty, improving social conditions and building 
better cities? In that case no nation in Europe after 
eighteen centuries would be compelled to report ninety- 
five per cent of its people illiterate; and the world itself 
might be at least a thousand years nearer the Golden 
Age. Suppose that men had sought the whole Kingdom 
of God and had applied the truth of Christ to all life? 
In that case they would not have overworked the soil, 
neglected its cultivation and destroyed its fertility; in 
that case also they would have given more attention to 
the morality and health of the people and would not have 
allowed them to remain ignorant. The words of Ruskin 
with reference to St. Francis of Asissi illustrate the 
principle we are considering: “If, instead of quitting his 
father’s trade that he might nurse lepers, he had made his 
father’s trade holy and pure and honorable, more than 
beggary; perhaps at this day the Black Friars might yet 
have an unruined house by Thames shore, and the chil¬ 
dren of his native village not be standing in the porches 


22 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY ? 


of the temple built over his tomb, to ask alms of the 
infidel.” 

Fourth, another reason is writ large on the face of 
history: men refused to apply the Gospel because they 
could not stand the justice of the Kingdom and were not 
willing to pay the price of obedience. This was so in 
Christ’s day and it has been so ever since. The men 
around the Master were enthusiastic so long as He talked 
of God and peace. They were willing to take Him by 
force and make Him a king when He gave them bread 
from heaven. But when He spoke of repentance and 
restitution, of justice between man and man, brotherhood 
toward all, they drew back and turned away from Him. 
“Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden.” 
How beautiful, how sweet, men said. “Take my yoke 
upon you and learn of me.” Now He has spoiled it all, 
men said, and we do not know what He means. Men 
refused Christ and asked for Barabbas because they 
could not stand the brotherhood and justice of the King¬ 
dom. This is the story that is told with such painful 
iteration through all the years of history. 

This gives us the clue to the Reformation period and 
its partial failure. We know today that there was a great 
Reformation before Luther; a great movement among 
the people that was based upon the Scriptures and in¬ 
spired by the idea of the Kingdom of God. At first. 
Luther sided with the people and confessed that their 
course was just. Encouraged by his words the people 
lifted up their heads and began to hope that the hour of 
their deliverance was at hand. They took the Gospel 
seriously and demanded that injustice be ended and 
righteousness be done. Then some men became alarmed 
—the men of privilege who were wronging the people, 
the nobility who denied them justice. Lines were being 
drawn, the people were making new demands and a 
struggle seemed imminent. At this time Luther, great 
and brave soul that he was, grew timid and drew back. 
He did not want to desert the people but he wanted the 
support of the nobility. History tells us how he made 
the fatal choice, how he sided with the secular princes 
and turned on the peasants. “We must do something 


THE FAILURE OF MEN 


23 


to strike terror into the hearts of the common people.” 
From that hour he fell out of touch with the people, lost 
his moral passion and gave his attention to doctrinal 
matters. And so the Reformation was switched from the 
main track; it ceased to be a great passion for the King¬ 
dom and its righteousness; it became a doctrinal move¬ 
ment and stopped short of its full work. Once more 
Christ was taken from the people and shut up within the 
church. Religion was limited to the individual and was 
not applied in its fullness. The Gospel became a church 
affair and ceased to be the power of God unto social re¬ 
demption. 

As it has been in the past, so it is today. Men are 
willing enough to accept Christ’s words, but they are not 
willing to go the whole length in his will. They are will¬ 
ing enough to believe in Him as Saviour and teacher, 
and are ready to fight for His doctrines; but they are not 
willing to accept Him as King and give Him authority 
over all life. They are willing to follow the teachings of 
Christ with reference to feeding the hungry and clothing 
the naked; they are ready to endow hospitals, and 
build rescue missions; but they are not willing to do 
justly and establish justice in society. They object the 
moment we begin to search for causes and demand right¬ 
eous conditions. Men are willing enough to follow Christ 
so long as He talks of love and grace and does not inter¬ 
fere with their practices and profits. But they are not 
willing to seek his righteousness or to bring all life under 
the dominion of His spirit. 

Fifth; One of the most subtle reasons of all for the 
failure of the church, has been the desire oj the church 
to win the friendship of the world. The Master warned 
His disciples that their cause would be unpopular. He 
warned them also against the folly of trying to keep on 
good terms with the world. “Woe unto you when all 
men shall speak well of you. That is evidence that you 
have become unfaithful to me.” For three hundred years 
Christianity was ignored by the learned and despised by 
the strong. Everywhere Christians were spoken against 
and they were counted as the offscouring of the world. 


24 WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY ? 

And these were the centuries of the Gospel's power and 
progress. 

But there came a time when the fortunes of the church 
were changed. The powers of earth found it expedient 
to patronize the church and to profess the Gospel. The 
so-called conversion of Constantine may have affected 
the outward fortunes of the church; but judged by the 
results, it was a most doubtful boon. The Roman offi¬ 
cials, the powers of earth, the men of privilege and place, 
took the church under their protection and sought to use 
it to their advantage. And the leaders of the church 
began to look to the secular powers for protection and 
favor. 

What followed? There is a double process which is 
marked through all history. The powers of the world 
sought to use the church, to bend it to their purposes, to 
emphasize those parts of the Gospel that are harmless, 
disapprove those parts of the Gospel that stir up the 
people and demand justice; they made it hazardous and 
unprofitable to preach those parts of the Gospel that dis¬ 
turb the present order. This was so all through the past 
and it has been the fact down to our own day. The 
leaders of the church came under the influence of the 
world and acquiesced in the world's ways. They became 
anxious to win and hold the favor of the rich and great. 
So they trimmed their sails to the breezes and took the 
safe course. All through the Middle Ages there runs the 
same monotonous and doleful tale. The clergy, admitted 
to the privileges of the rich, forgot the Gospel of justice 
and brotherhood and preached servience and content¬ 
ment. They allowed the sheep of the Father’s flock to 
be torn by the wolves, and were silent or merely 
whispered objections when the people were oppressed. 

As it has been in the past so it is down to our own day. 
The state churches of Europe have been silent while the 
most atrocious wrongs have been done and the most 
outrageous wars have been started. Brierley says that 
since Seabury no English bishop has jeopardized his 
coach and four by a righteous but unpopular protest. 
The churches have wanted to keep on good terms with 
the great. They have needed money for their vast mis- 


THE FAILURE OF MEN 


25 


sionary and philanthropic enterprises. So they have 
played safe and have not “meddled with outside mat¬ 
ters.” For a hundred years in England and Europe the 
people have struggled for life and freedom; and through 
all that time the churches have largely been indifferent 
when they have not been hostile to the disturbers of the 
peace. The consequence is that great sections of the 
Scriptures have been largely overlooked; and great areas 
of life have been left unredeemed. 

There is a deeper reason for this attitude. The 
churches, many of them, by their constitution, stand for 
order and dignity, for the ancient faith and the estab¬ 
lished custom, for things as they are, for peace and quiet. 
It is not strange, therefore, that they should be afraid of 
the new wine. It is natural enough for them to want to 
confine it within the old skins. Again and again in the 
past the church has faced an open door and a great op¬ 
portunity. There was a timing of God’s providences in 
the interests of His Kingdom. The spirit had wrought in 
men and had awakened new aspirations in many hearts. 
Men were in expectation and were ready for a great 
advance. But again and again we see the churches 
hesitating and halting. Some men, the holders of privi¬ 
lege, were opposed to change; so they tried to keep things 
as they were. Other men were afraid of the new and 
strange; they feared confusion and disorder; and so they 
sided against the innovators. “The Kingdom of God is 
like leaven.” “Think not,” said the Son of Man, “that 
I am come to bring peace on earth, but a sword.” Let 
us not miss the great truth here. If justice is to be done, 
if society is to advance, if the Kingdom of God is to be 
established, some privileges will have to be revoked, some 
changes will have to be made in society. The churches 
in the past failed to meet the crisis in part because of 
spiritual inertia, in part because of moral timidity, in 
large part because they did not want to offend the men 
of privilege, and in large part because they feared change 
more than they feared the wrongs which made change 
necessary. 

Finally. All of these things have cooperated in giving 
men a partial Gospel and a limited outlook upon life. 


£6 WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 

It came about, from one cause and another, that men 
failed to measure the breadth of Christ’s redemptive 
work and so did not apply the Gospel to all life. They 
interpreted Christ’s purpose in its personal meaning and 
its ecclesiastical bearing; but they signally failed to in¬ 
terpret that purpose in terms of human relation and 
social institutions. Men have taught that the church is 
a divine institution, at once a realm of the King’s reign 
and an agency in the Kingdom’s advance. But it has 
hardly entered into their thought to conceive that the 
family, the state, and industry, are also fields for the 
display of Christ’s redemptive purpose and means of the 
Kingdom’s progress. And so little effort has been made 
to interpret the redemption of Christ in human, social, 
industrial and international relations. Little effort has 
been made to interpret the great principles of Christian¬ 
ity, justice, brotherhood, love and service in all realms 
of life. Little effort has been made to build a social order 
on these principles. Men have not tried to interpret and 
apply the teachings of Christ in the social order and 
industrial relations; and we do not know what the great 
words of Christ means in these realms. Nay, many men 
have flatly denied that the Gospel has anything to do 
with factories and mills, with industrial corporations and 
halls of legislation. Not alone the man of the street, 
but the professor of economics, has warned us to keep 
distinct the provinces of ethics and of economics. The 
consequence is men have not seen that life in church and 
family, in nation and industry, must be organized on a 
Christian basis; and they have not known what to do 
or where to begin in order to Christianize business and 
industry. 

Beyond this men have never tried to interpret Christ’s 
purpose in terms of humanity and to apply his teachings 
across international boundaries. In a general way men 
have believed in the brotherhood of humanity and have 
admitted that each nation has its place in the Father’s 
purpose. But like the Jew of old, men have construed 
the divine purpose in terms of our national life and have 
assumed that other people must somehow look to us for 
their place. Each people has had its tribal God; and 


THE FAILURE OF MEN 


27 


other peoples may share in this God as they acknowledge 
our superiority. Only in a very meagre and fumbling 
way have we interpreted and applied the principles of 
ethics and the teachings of Christ across international 
boundaries. Recently I had occasion to consult half a 
dozen great books of theology on the question of indus¬ 
trial relations and international ethics. And I found 
that these subjects were not even recognized in most of 
them. Men have not seen that Christ is the redeemer of 
all life; they have not tried to bring all life under the 
dominion of Christ’s spirit; they have not tried to seek 
the Kingdom of God through all the institutions of 
society; they have not tried to build their cities after 
the pattern of the City of God. 

As a result of these misconceptions men have failed to 
seek the whole Kingdom of God and have allowed great 
areas of life to remain unredeemed and unmoralized. In 
their devotion to what they call the spiritual interests of 
life, they have been indifferent to the struggle for justice 
and effort for social betterment. Some of these men 
opposed Clarkson and Howard, and called all such ef¬ 
forts “unspiritual and unholy.” The Earl of Shaftsbury 
faced this same opposition in his effort to help women 
and children, and is compelled to write: “Sinners are with 
me; saints are against me. Strange contradiction of 
human nature.” Some of these same people today make 
light of Social Service and regard it as unholy and mis¬ 
taken. Others have given the teachings of Christ a 
purely personal bearing and have not attempted to under¬ 
stand their wider social bearing. And so they have never 
tried to apply them to life as a whole. Nay, many men 
have frankly said that Christ’s teachings are imprac¬ 
ticable and unworkable in the social world and the in¬ 
dustrial order. Others have given his teachings a future 
application. Thus we are gravely told that the Sermon 
on the Mount is Christ’s law for the Kingdom. As the 
Kingdom of God has not come, the Sermon on the Mount 
does not now apply and is not yet the law for society. 
Thus do men make void the word of Christ by their own 
actions. And all this in face of His plain warning: “Why 


28 WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 

call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I 
say?” 

This failure to see and to seek the whole Kingdom of 
God and to claim all life for the Kingdom, has really lost 
the Kingdom itself. Christianity must be all or it. is 
nothing. A partial Christianity is not the Christianity 
of Christ. The only way that Christianity can itself be 
saved, is by saving everything. Long ago the Master 
declared that “No man can serve two masters. For 
either he will love the one and hate the other, or he will 
hold to the one and despise the other.” On this question 
the verdict of history is positive and unequivocal. Men 
tried to be Christians in a part of their lives; but left 
many relations unredeemed. They served God in one area 
of life but allowed great regions to remain unmoralized. 
The result is just what the Master foresaw and fore¬ 
told. The corruption and decay in the unredeemed areas 
of life reacted and destroyed personal religion and church 
life. Life is a unity, and it tends to become all good or 
all bad. Lincoln uttered a profound truth when he said 
that the nation cannot endure half slave and half free. 
Society cannot exist half Christian and half pagan. 
Ruskin tells us that the people of Venice were the most 
religious people during the Middle Ages. They were so 
religious, in fact, that they kept their religion for their 
homes and churches. They said it was altogether too 
sacred a thing to have anything to do with politics and 
business. “The consequence was,” says Ruskin, that 
“their politics and business became utterly corrupt, and 
the corruption here reacted upon their churches and 
homes and destroyed any religion that might be there.” 
All through the past men have tried to save a portion of 
life while leaving society pagan. The result is that life 
has always tended to one level, and the paganism in 
society has reacted upon the church and has destroyed its 
religion. Men have not tried to Christianize life as a 
whole, and so they have really failed to Christianize it 
at all. 

We realize fully that great things have been done in 
the name of Christ. We recognize also that some noble 
and notable attempts have been made to interpret the 


THE FAILURE OF MEN 


29 


Christian ideal and realize a Christian social order. Thus 
Savonarola in old Florence had a vision of a Christian 
city and bravely sought to make Jesus Christ King of the 
city. The Ana-Baptists in Ceneral Europe caught a 
vision of the Kingdom of God, and both preached the 
Gospel of the common man and tried to realize a Chris¬ 
tian order. John Calvin, in Geneva, believed in the re¬ 
demption of all life and tried to build a Christian city. 
Knox and his colleagues in Scotland, saw in vision a 
redeemed people living in covenant relations with the 
Invisible King, and sought to bring all life under the 
divine law, a from the King’s throne that should be estab¬ 
lished in righteousness, to the merchant’s balance that 
should be used in faithfulness.” The Puritans and Pil¬ 
grims in Massachusetts colonies, the Baptists in Provi¬ 
dence Plantations, and the Quakers in ‘The Holy Experi¬ 
ment” in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, sought to realize 
the Kingdom ideal among men. Let us give all honor 
to whom honor is due. 

But at best these were but partial interpretations of 
Christianity and limited application of Christian princi¬ 
ples. They were the visions of a few prophetic souls 
rather than the settled purpose of the people. And so 
it may be said that no generation and people has entered 
into the length and breadth of the Kingdom of God. 
Only in a very halting and fumbling way men have 
spelled out a part of the Gospels meaning and tried to 
realize the great purpose of Christ. 

One word of explanation or caution may be spoken. In 
speaking of the causes which have been at work obscuring 
the Gospel and defeating the purpose of Christ, no at¬ 
tempt has been made to connect these with any partic¬ 
ular church or any special school. It would be quite easy 
to show that the spirit of ecclesiasticism, the spirit that 
exalts itself and seeks to dominate men, is found in the 
Roman Catholic Church. But as a matter of fact, some 
of that spirit is found in all bodies. It would be easy also 
to show that certain other causes have been conspicious 
in the state churches of England and Germany. But 
unfortunately those same influences have appeared in 
other church organizations. 


30 WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY ? 

Some things are made very plain in this review. First, 
Christianity has been tried in part and in certain realms 
and relations; but it has never been tried in full and in 
all relations. It is true that the Christian spirit has done 
much in the world and has wrought mighty changes. But 
“the contributions made by Christianity to the working 
efficiency and the constructive social abilities of humanity 
in the past, have been mainly indirect.” Its social effec¬ 
tiveness was mainly a by-product. In a real sense, there¬ 
fore, it may be said that no generation of men ever tried 
in a large way to understand the great ideal of Christ and 
build the social and political life on a Christian basis. In 
some of his teachings men have never taken Jesus seri¬ 
ously. To this day there are large sections of his message 
that are not emphasized and applied; as, for example, his 
words concerning stewardship, wealth, forgiveness, jus¬ 
tice, philanthropy and cross-bearing. Generations have 
called Christ Lord, Lord, but they have not done the 
things He said. Civilization has honored Christ with its 
lips; but its heart has never been given to His service. 

The second fact is also plain; men have tried some 
things that passed for Christianity, but they have never 
tried Christianity itself. They have tried ecclesiasticism 
and doctrinalism; they have tried their own wisdom and 
their own ideas, but they have never fully tried the very 
truth and life of Christ himself. They have never 
brought the whole grace of Christ to bear upon the whole 
need of man. And so only a fraction of the real Kingdom 
of God has been realized on earth. The result is that 
men do not really know what the Gospel means or what 
Christ can do. 

So the third thing is true; Christians have never given 
the Gospel a chance to show what it can do. “The real 
Gospel, if it were accepted,” said Dean Inge, “would pull 
up the roots, not only of militarism, but its analogue 
in civil life, the desire to exploit other people for private 
gain. But it is not accepted.” We may admit further 
with the Dean, that “it is not Christianity which has 
been judged and condemned at the bar of civilization, it 
is civilization which has destroyed itself because it has 
honored Christ with its lips while its heart has been far 


THE FAILURE OF MEN 


31 


from Him.” But this does not touch the real question at 
issue. The real Gospel, we may admit, has not been 
accepted by non-Christian people; but the tragedy of 
the story is found in this: that the real Gospel has not 
been accepted by the people who call themselves Chris¬ 
tians. But even more tragic than this is the fact that 
men have deceived themselves with reference to the real 
Gospel. Generations of church people have called Christ 
Lord, and have supposed that in doing so they were 
doing the things that He said. Many of the churches 
of the past believed that they represented the will of 
Christ and taught men His full Gospel. But we now see 
that they acquiesced in politics that were frankly pagan ; 
they accepted a civilization which honored Christ with 
its lips while the heart was far from Him. That is, great 
branches of the church, many millions of men, have lived 
on the mere fringes of the Kingdom and have supposed 
that they accepted the real Gospel, when, as a matter of 
fact, they did not obey Christ’s words and their heart 
was far from Him. Ah, if the Master w T ere here today, 
might he not ask with a ten-fold sorrow: “Have I been 
so long time with you and yet have ye not known Me?” 

This suggests the lesson for our times and shows the 
task before us. It is not the failure of Christianity that 
is responsible for the tragic conditions of the past and 
the present. It is rather the failure of men to understand 
the Christianity of Christ; it is their unbelief in the real 
Gospel, their unwillingness to go all the way with Jesus 
Christ; it is due to the substitution of forms for realities 
and the acceptance of half truths for the whole GospeL 
And this brings us to the subject of the next chapter. 


THE CHALLENGE OF THE HOUR 


The world changes and men change with it. The world 
changes and ever new questions come to the front and 
make their insistent demand. In every age the Gospel, 
so far as it has been followed, has proved itself to the 
power of God and the wisdom of God, in that it has 
answered men’s need and met every question as it arose. 
Today we are brought face to face with some urgent 
questions, and these are here to challenge our faith and 
prove the Gospel’s power. In our time the Gospel has 
its fortune to make or to lose in the wider fields of man’s 
social, industrial and international life. In the signifi¬ 
cant words of Sir Edward Grey: “The condition of 
the world is an ultimatum to Christianity.” 

First, here is the challenge of the social question. In 
our time we have found that humanity, through the toils 
and sacrifices of other generations, has come into a great 
heritage of achievement. But, owing either to neglect 
on the part of many or to greed on the part of a few, the 
control of that heritage in large part has fallen into a few 
hands, and these not always the wisest and most deserv¬ 
ing. The consequence is, as Benjamin Kidd says, the 
great mass of people are born into the world to find that 
the best places are already preempted and held in per¬ 
petuity; and so they find themselves without any real 
opportunity in the world and a fair equity in the national 
heritage. 

I shall not attempt to mention the various plans that 
have been devised first and last to solve this problem and 
change the situation. But I come right to the heart of 
the question and ask: why not try Christianity? Why 
not go back to the fundamental Bible teaching and say 
that the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. 
This earth he has given to the children of men to be 
their heritage and their home. Why not accept the Bible 

32 


THE CHALLENGE OF THE HOUR 33 

teaching that all souls are God’s, and so one soul has as 
much right to be as another. Why not say with the 
teachers of Scripture, that while men may have posses¬ 
sion of the earth, one man has no right to gain a monop¬ 
oly of the earth and deny his brother man a right to 
opportunity? Why not accept and teach the great prin¬ 
ciple of the Jubilee law, which Jesus announced in the 
Nazareth synagogue he came to fulfil in the acceptable 
year of the Lord? Why not teach the primary Christian 
truth, that man is a steward in all he is and in all he does; 
and so nothing that he handles is really his own; that he 
is hence under obligation to use his talents and his prop¬ 
erty in such a way as to advance the Kingdom of God 
and promote the cause of justice? This is not socialism, 
for the reason that it is a thousand miles deeper, more 
radical, more fundamental than any socialistic program. 
All this is no new demand; but it is the old truth which 
has been sun-clear from the beginning. 

Second, we have the challenge of the industrial situa¬ 
tion. There are many persons who miss the real meaning 
of the industrial issue and see only the surface symptoms. 
On the surface it seems to be a question of hours and 
wages, control of industry and the distribution of its 
products. But this is only the outward and visible sign 
of a deep and human trouble. We have strife in the 
industrial world because there is injustice in society, 
because human relations are broken and dishonored, 
because there is a frightful discrepancy between the 
Christian ideal and the social order. 

The industrial system of today is the product and 
result of forces and principles with which Christianity 
has nothing to do. Nay, worse, these forces are in direct 
opposition to the principles of Christ. It has been taught 
that selfishness is the basis of economic activity; that 
each party is expected to get all he can for himself and 
give as little as necessary to the others; that men are 
‘Tree to do one another to the death provided only the 
arena be a market and the instrument bargain;” that 
competition is the law of trade and it is useless to com¬ 
plain of men because they are self-seeking. So long as 
such principles are accepted, that long we will have strife 


34 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 


and confusion. So long as the industrial order rests upon 
such assumptions the goodly fellowship of the apostles 
could not operate our present system and make its 
workings just or satisfactory. 

The first thing is for us to deny and repudiate these 
pagan principles of our economic order, and to affirm and 
substitute Christian principles. “Competition is put forth 
as the law of life. That is a lie,” says Maurice, “and the 
time has come for us in word and deed to repudiate it.” 
The next thing is to affirm that men are brothers before 
they are employers and employes: we must bring them 
together as men and adjust the relations between them 
in terms of justice and love and brotherhood. This was 
Jesus’ method and Jesus’ remedy. The Master when 
importuned to take sides in a dispute concerning prop¬ 
erty, disavowed the function of a judge and divider in 
such matters. But in the next words he shows very 
clearly that he is concerned with the spirit which lies 
behind disputes and causes division. So he charged men 
to beware of covetousness and to cultivate a spirit of 
brotherliness. The real causes of industrial strife are an 
unbrotherly spirit and a greed of gain. The effective 
remedy is found in a substitution of the spirit of brother¬ 
hood and justice for the spirit of greed and pride. We 
admit that there must be some radical changes in the 
order and method of society, that this spirit may be 
created and may have full sway. But these changes in 
society will come about as fast and as far as the spirit 
of brotherliness and the passion for justice prevails. The 
various plans proposed to bring industrial peace, such 
as profit sharing, compulsory arbitration, industrial 
democracy, may or may not be the final word; they may 
or they may not work out the results desired. 

Thus, beyond any changes in the machinery of the 
industrial system, there must be changes in the attitude 
of men themselves. We can never solve the industrial 
question by any half-way measures. Nine-tenths of our 
efforts miss the mark for the reason that they ignore 
underlying causes. We can never bring peace to the 
industrial world by any meddling with wages, hours of 
labor, recognition of the unions and system of profit 


35 


THE CHALLENGE OF THE HOUR 

sharing. This is merely lopping off a few branches and 
leaving the root untouched. The church must strike at 
the heart of the problem and lay the axe at the root of 
the tree. The church must take away the love of gold 
and bring men under the sway of a new motive. There 
must be the substitution of the spirit of service for the 
spirit of greed; there must be a willingness on the part 
of all to regard others as brothers and to be brotherly 
toward them; there must be a sacrificial attitude of mind 
which will lead men to look not primarily on the things 
of self, but to seek the good of all. We must go down 
and down beneath all mere questions of hours and wages, 
dividends and bosship, and bring men together face to 
face as men; and we must then adjust the relations of 
men in terms of justice, love and brotherhood. We must 
learn to apply the Gospel across class lines, to deal with 
one another as brothers and partners. The world has 
tried strikes, lockouts, boycotts, legislation; and the 
result is confusion and strife. Why not try Christianity, 
with its brotherhood, its justice, its co-operation? The 
finest evidence of the Gospel today is a company of men, 
employers and workingmen, sitting together as brothers 
to consider the affairs of the enterprise and to work 
together as partners. And all this ought to be self-evident 
to those who confess faith in Christ. 

Third, here is the challenge of the great World War. 
The World War is one of the greatest calamities that has 
ever befallen the human race. It is impossible for any 
man to appreciate the magnitude of this calamity or to 
measure its tragedies. Fully eight million men have been 
killed or have died of wounds ; another eight million have 
been injured in various ways and are crippled for life. 
This is sad enough; but this is only the beginning of the 
tragedy. The war has cost the nations billions of dollars, 
and little children generations hence will be born under 
the shadow of this war debt; billions of money that ought 
to have gone for education and health and human well¬ 
being must be spent to pay the interest on this colossal 
debt. But even more tragic than this is the fact that 
millions of homes have been broken up and millions of 
children must begin life without a father’s care and coun- 


36 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 


sel. Many millions of children are being cheated out of 
an adequate education and a fair chance in the world. 
But quite as dark as all this is the fact that national 
enmities have been intensified, and for generations men 
of one race will suspect and hate the men of other races. 

This great war raises some very serious questions. 
Could not Christianity have prevented this war? The 
real causes of this war are not far to seek or hard to find. 
They are the greed of nations, their ambition to extend 
their boundaries, to gain new markets, to control the 
strategic points of the world’s trade. For generations 
the nations of Europe have been sowing the wind, and 
it is not strange that they should reap the whirlwind. 

The foreign policies of the so-called Christian nations 
have been practically untouched by the Christian spirit. 
Those policies might have belonged indifferently to Mo¬ 
hammedan, Buddhist or pagan peoples. “Diplomacy,” 
says Professor Gilbert Murray in defending the foreign 
policy of Sir Edward Grey, “in the past twenty years 
was an outlaw’s market.” Little or no attempt has been 
made to teach the brotherhood of mankind or to interpret 
the Sermon on the Mount across international bounda¬ 
ries. Not only so, but the underlying principles of our 
civilization have been purely Gentile and pagan. The 
nations have been looking each on the things of self and 
no one on the things of others. Each has been trying 
to secure the largest share of the earth, to control the 
world’s trade routes and to checkmate its competitors; 
each has sought after the things that make for national 
advantage and have not taken thought for the things 
that make for world peace. The stronger nations have 
regarded backward peoples as legitimate objects of 
exploitation. They have sought to control smaller 
nations in the interest of trade and finance. Thus far 
the only way that the smaller nations could be safe at 
all, was to come under the sovereignty of some stronger 
nation. The nations have believed in the God of heaven, 
but they have not believed in the one Father of all. Each 
nation has had a tribal religion, a national God. In a 
partial way they have believed in justice and brother¬ 
hood, but they have never believed in these principles 


37 


THE CHALLENGE OF THE HOUR 

in the relation of nation with nation. These policies and 
practices foredoom the world to be a scene of confusion 
and warfare. So long as self-interest determines the poli¬ 
cies of the nations, that long nations will fight when their 
interests collide. 

Then why not try Christianity as the remedy for war? 
The world has tried diplomacy and it has failed. The 
world has tried battleships and armies and they have 
failed. Why not try Christianity? Why not believe in 
the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man¬ 
kind? Why not say that God hath made of one blood all 
nations of men; that he has given each nation its heritage 
and its right to be, and so it has the right to its own 
territory and life. Why not say that injustice and land 
grabbing on the part of a nation is even more cruel and 
wicked than injustice and stealing on the part of an 
individual? Why not declare that the nations calling 
themselves Christian must give up their ambitions of 
trade control and economic imperialism, and bring inter¬ 
national trade under the control of morality and law? 
Why not insist that nations equally with individuals are 
under obligation to practice the Golden Rule and do unto 
others as they would have others do unto them? Why 
not affirm that nations are here not to be ministered unto, 
but to minister and to serve the cause of humanity? Why 
should not the churches know of the political treasons 
that are plotted and the imperialistic ambitions that are 
driving men into war? And why should they not testify 
against these things in the name of the Lord, disfellow- 
ship the men who do these things and say that they are 
the enemies of the Kingdom of God? The church must 
testify against this evil spirit, this greed of nations, and 
then call men and nations to repentance. The churches 
must make men and nations know that when they covet 
and steal the territory of weaker peoples they are sinners 
and pagans. The churches must refuse to sanction and 
bless these unholy wars of greed and conquest; they must 
make the nations know that they fight as pagans and not 
as Christians; they must honor the spirit of Christ and 
must keep his name out of these unholy quarrels. The 
churches must insist that they who name the name of 


38 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 


Christ shall have done with iniquity; they must refuse 
to absolve and bless the nations that follow the policies 
of Cain; they must testify that the way of justice, love 
and brotherhood is the way of security, life and peace. 

The world today is in a desperate condition. It is like 
the sick woman of the Gospels who had tried many things 
of many physicians, but was nothing bettered but rather 
grew worse. The world has tried ecclesiasticism, and all 
history records its failure to save men or to unite the 
people. The world has tried science for its many ills; 
and science has no power to save men; nay, we have seen 
science turned against man and devising means for 
destroying men. The world has tried education; and 
while education has done much, it has left the heart 
untouched and the moral will untrained; it has no power 
to charm away the selfishness of men and send them to 
seek the Kingdom of God and its righteousness. The 
nations have tried diplomacy, and all the world knows 
the result. The diplomats of the world have played with 
the lives of men and the destiny of nations as though 
they were pawns on a chess board. Diplomacy failed to 
avert the most disastrous war of ages; and diplomacy 
failed at the Peace Conferenc to give a just treaty or to 
ensure world peace. If man’s extremity is God’s oppor¬ 
tunity, there is just one thing for the world to do: come 
to Jesus Christ and try the Gospel. The most important 
task before our generation is to think out the meaning 
of Christ’s life and teaching in relation to social, indus¬ 
trial and international affairs; and then to set about the 
work of applying his principles all along the line of life. 

This question really has two aspects, both of which 
are essential and must be taken together. Whv not trv 
CHRISTIANITY? Not a part of it, not a sub¬ 
stitute for it, but Christianity itself in its length and 
breadth, its reality and power? And why not TRY 
Christianity to the full; that is, find out what Chris¬ 
tianity means and then apply it to every detail of life 
and every relation of society; bring its spirit and motive 
to bear upon every question and go just as far as Christ 
goes? 


THE POWER OF CHRISTIANITY 


In all this discussion some questions have been haunt¬ 
ing our minds and striving for expression. What is 
Christianity, the Christianity of Christ? Then why not 
take Jesus Christ seriously and do the things that he 
says? 

The first thing is for men to find out what Christianity 
is and what it clearly means. Who is Jesus Christ? What 
has he come to do? What does God want done in our 
world? What is meant by the Kingdom of God? What 
are the Kingdom ends that we are to seek in the church 
and in the family, in the state and the industrial order? 
These are the primary questions of life, and on these 
the churches should have a definite mind. The indiffer¬ 
ence of the churches to these questions and the uncertain 
answers that are given are nothing less than the reproach 
of the church’s intelligence. 

What then is Christianity? It is implied in what we 
have said above. It is that great system of light and 
truth and power revealed to us in the life and work and 
truth of the Son of Man. In its scope it is the idea of a 
Kingdom of God on earth; a human society redeemed 
in all its parts and organized according to the will of God. 
In its inner principle it rests upon the Fatherhood of God 
as revealed in Christ, and the Brotherhood of Mankind 
as realized in a life of service. In its dynamic power it 
means the spirit of love and brotherhood, of equality and 
service in all relations of life. In its method it is the 
permeation of all life by the spirit of Christ and the 
transformation of life into the glory of the Kingdom. It 
demands that men organize life in all of its relations in 
terms of justice, love, service and brotherhood. Chris¬ 
tianity is an earth religion. It is here to touch every 
cradle with its glory, to transform every life by its power, 
to transfigure every institution of society into the order 
39 


40 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 


of the Kingdom. As the sunlight which fills the heavens 
and brightens the earth seeks to get itself reborn into the 
rose bush and the wheat field, so the life of that Kingdom 
which is over all seeks to get itself incarnated in human 
life, interpreted in human relations, and fulfilled in 
human institutions. In the Christian conception of things 
the spirit is primary and all these things are subordinate. 
The weightier matters of the Gospel according to Jesus 
are justice, love, and truth. In face of these things, 
ritual, forms, modes of church government are but sec¬ 
ondary things, the mere dust of the balances. It is evi¬ 
dent that many things that have passed for Christianity 
are only a part and fragment of it. It is evident also that 
much of the time men have been dealing with the inci¬ 
dental things of the Gospel and have overlooked its cen¬ 
tral and essential meaning. The time for half truths is 
over. Nothing but the whole of Christ’s Gospel can meet 
the whole need of the world. We cannot work with power 
unless we work with God. We cannot expect the world 
to believe in the Kingdom until we seek it ourselves. 

The second thing is for men who call themselves Chris¬ 
tians to realize what their profession means and then to 
lift the standard of their lives. According to Jesus, they 
who would be his disciples must deny themselves, take 
up their cross and follow him. They are charged to seek 
first the Kingdom and its righteousness; they are charged 
to be perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect; they 
are to live by far different standards from the world; 
their lives are to be marked by a passion for justice, by 
their obedence to Christ, their service of others. Jesus 
expected the least and lowliest member of his Kingdom 
to be better than the best and bravest person outside 
that Kingdom. According to the earliest teachers, the 
Christian disciples were called unto holiness of life 
(2 Cor. 7:1); their life and deportment were to be differ¬ 
ent from that of the men around them; they who con¬ 
fessed Christ as Lord were thereby committed to his kind 
of life; in the emotion of their hearts, in their conversa¬ 
tion and conduct, their dealings with men, they were to 
be like their Master; in their whole range of life they 
were to live by the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. 


THE POWER OF CHRISTIANITY 


41 


There is a challenge here both to the individual and 
to the church. It is for each person who bears the name 
of Christ to take himself in hand and bring his own life 
to the test. Then it is for the churches to make men 
know what it means to be Christians and to guide men 
in the right way. The churches must make men know 
that they are to obey Christ in all things; they are to 
possess his spirit and walk in his way; they are to cherish 
no enmities, but are to seek reconciliation with all men; 
they are to be meek and self-sacrificing, and are to live 
for others’ good; they are to desire the riches that are 
within and are to give up the service of mammon; they 
are to regard life as a service, and are to seek not their 
own profit, but the advantage of the many. Does anyone 
doubt what will be the result? It may be that some half¬ 
hearted followers will turn back and walk no more with 
the churches. But it is far better for men to know where 
they stand now, than to live all their life under a delusion. 

The third thing is for the church to take itself in hand 
and see how far the failure is in it. The most vain and 
useless policy is for the churches to resent this inquiry, 
and so refuse to search themselves through and through. 
The only wise and saving course is for the churches to 
humble themselves and return to the Lord Jesus. 

“Judgment must begin at the house of God,” says 
Phillip Gibbs. “The most vain thing is for the churches 
to protest their innocence and claim that they have fully 
represented Christ. As a matter of fact the churches of 
Europe have not been faithful to Christ and have not 
shepherded the people. They proclaimed the name of 
Christ to men, but they did not instruct men in his way. 
They taught men to repeat his name, but never tried to 
create a Christian state of mind in the people. Men have 
tried to be Christians in their personal lives and in their 
church circles. But they have not so much as heard that 
there is such a thing as the mind of Christ for social life, 
for industrial relations, for international affairs. So the 
churches of Europe failed in the crisis; so men followed 
the call back of the beast in the jungle rather than the 
voice of the crucified one whom they pretended to adore.” 
There is one thing for the churches in all lands to do; 


42 WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 

humble themselves before God and search themselves 
through and through with his truth. So long as they 
refuse to face the truth and realize their failure, there will 
be no real repentance and no hope. The churches of 
Europe and the world can never lead the nations into 
the Kingdom till they themselves repent, return unto 
Christ and prove themselves worthy of the place of 
leadership. “The church,” so wrote one of the senior 
English chaplains from the front, “has specialized in 
irrelevancies.” The time has come for the church to 
specialize in the Gospel and to seek the whole Kingdom 
of God. 

The world will return to the church when the church 
returns to Christ. The faith of the people will revive 
when the church regains faith in God. Everywhere men 
are saying that if the Christianity of the churches is the 
only Christianity, then it is hardly worth while for us 
to consider it longer. The world wants a real faith; it 
is anxious to have a god in whom it can believe, but it 
demands something more Christian and more potent than 
the ecclesiasticism of the past. If the churches really 
have no knowledge of God and cannot show men what 
to do in this time, they should frankly confess failure 
and get out of the way. But if they have the very truth 
of God, they must make that truth known and must give 
mankind a true leadership. The time for trifling, make- 
believe half truths is past. The world waits to see 
whether the churches take Christianity seriously. This 
is a significant report from Bishop Tucker, of Kioto. He 
tells how the Japanese government sent a special com¬ 
mission to the U. S. to study the influence of Christianity 
upon the lives of the American people. They reported on 
their return that while “education, commerce, and indus¬ 
try have been developed to a wonderful degree, there is 
little evidence that the Christian religion is regarded as 
important by most people.” The churches of Europe 
have made it hard for men to believe in Christianity. 

The fourth thing is to gain a new faith in Christ and 
the power of the Gospel. On all sides there is a subtle 
unbelief in the power of the Gospel and the practicability 
of its teachings. Everywhere we find men professing 


THE POWER OF CHRISTIANITY 43 

faith in Christ, trusting their souls to him for eternity 
and yet saying that his teachings will not work between 
nations and are not practicable in modern industry. Mil¬ 
lions of men who call Christ Lord, in the church, yet 
do not believe that his teachings will work in industry 
and politics. “The Golden Rule is good enough in relig¬ 
ion, but it will not work in history. The law of humil¬ 
ity and self-sacrifice, the principle of reconciliation and 
fellowship, are good enough in the church; but they are 
out of place in social and commercial life.” Not all men 
confess their faith or lack of faith in such frank words; 
but millions of men shoW that this is their view; and 
other millions cannot be made to see what humility, 
self-sacrifice, reconciliation, and fellowship mean and 
demand in industrial and political relations. 

There are many kinds of unbelief in our time, but this 
is the most subtle and dangerous. There are a few men 
who ridicule the Scriptures and deny that God has ever 
spoken to us in His Son. There are others who affirm 
the inspiration of the Scriptures and believe that Jesus 
Christ is God manifested in the flesh, but they say that 
his teachings do not apply in the wider ranges of life 
and are not practicable in the social and industrial world. 
The first kind of unbelief is trifling and harmless beside 
this second variety, for this denies the very power and 
workability of the Gospel; this betrays Christ in the 
house of His friends; this is the unpardonable sin, in that 
it denies the very value of the Gospel. To confess one 
thing in the church and then go outside and deliberately 
live the contrary, is to mock at God and laugh in the 
face of the Cross. 

Jesus Christ is all or He is nothing. A Sunday God 
is no God at all. A God who directs the working of the 
church, but has nothing to do with the social order, is 
hardly worth mentioning. A Christ who serves as door¬ 
keeper of heaven, but has no authority on earth, is but 
a pale and impotent ghost. We are growing ashamed of 
a religion which shelters itself under the great name of 
Christ and is content to accept his promise of salvation 
in the future while it turns a deaf ear to the cry of the 
world and refuses to apply His Gospel in all the relations 


44 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY ? 


of life. “The church cannot go on preaching Jesus to 
individuals and Machiavelli to states,” says one; “at last 
the high gods weary of such stupidity and send the 
deluge.” Once and for all we must get rid of “That 
variety of atheism which would deny the relevance of 
God’s will to certain phases of life.” The question at 
issue in society, in states, among the nations, at bottom 
is this: shall we have one law for the person and the 
church and a different law for society and industry? 
This is the central question, and as we face or evade this 
question shall we honor Christ and help the world. To 
believe in Christ is to accept* Christ’s law and stand or 
fall with it. It is certain that nothing but a crucificed 
church can ever win the world to a crucified Christ. 

“But,” men say. No, there is no But about it. The 
man who names the name of Christ is committed to the 
Christian way of life. To him the word of Christ is the 
final law and the end of all controversy. Is it vain and 
Utopian to ask that Christians shall simply try to be 
Christians? As long as men expect nothing of themselves 
they will be content with low standards. As long as they 
pick and choose among the words of Christ they will have 
large areas of life unredeemed. In all this we are not 
preaching any new Gospel or laying any impossible de¬ 
mands. We are simply trying to state some of the pri¬ 
mary things of Christ and to remind men of the truth 
which they have known from the beginning. What the 
world needs today is a generation of men who take Jesus 
seriously and are willing to go the whole way with him. 
What it needs is a company of men who believe that the 
mind of Christ is wise economic doctrine and good politi¬ 
cal wisdom, and will then confess their faith in their 
lives. Some, of course, try to turn the edge of this appeal 
by saying that the teachings of Christ are personal and 
do not apply to social matters. Many will say that these 
demands are Utopian and we must not expect too much 
of human nature. There is one only and sufficient 
answer; it is found in the old questions: “Into what then 
were ye baptized if not into a new life in Christ? Why 
call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I 
say?” 


THE POWER OF CHRISTIANITY 


45 


The one condition which is the summary and applica¬ 
tion of all others is this: We must regain the idea of 
the Kingdom of God and establish it in its central place 
in thought and effort. Till this is done we shall not fully 
know what Christianity means or what we are called to 
do. When this is done all other things will follow. 

The chief cause of the church’s failure in the past came 
through the loss of the Kingdom of God and the substi¬ 
tution of other and lesser ideas. The church lost the idea 
of the Kingdom and as a result it has had a partial 
Gospel. The church substituted itself for the Kingdom 
and then got entangled in a false conception of things. 
Men thought of the church as the Kingdom and so nar¬ 
rowed the purpose of Christ in the world. They thought 
of the church as the Kingdom and so were never able to 
see the Kingdom meaning of the other relations and 
institutions of life. They narrowed Christ’s redemptive 
purpose to one institution of life and practically dis¬ 
inherited three-fourths of man’s being. If the church is 
the Kingdom, then three-fourths of life must forever lie 
beyond the frontiers of the Kingdom. The church is a 
highly specialized institution. It can never be so widened 
as to include all the relations and institutions of society. 
So long as the church regards itself as the Kingdom men 
will fail to see the Kingdom meaning of all institutions 
and will regard service in these institutions as religiously 
negligible. As a matter of fact the Kingdom is intended 
to include all life; and men are to seek the Kingdom in 
and through all the relations and institutions of society. 
These are all fields for the display of the Kingdom’s life 
and means of the Kingdom to advance. Not until we 
recognize the idea of the Kingdom of God and reestablish 
it in its central place in thought, shall we understand the 
real meaning of Christianity or have the whole of Christ’s 
Gospel. It is certain that men cannot lose the great 
central Christian idea without losing the key to life. It 
is equally certain that their efforts will be hap-hazard 
until they move in line with God’s great purpose in our 
world. Let the churches return to Christ and regain 
the idea of the Kingdom of God. Let them make that 
idea central in their thought and life. Let them observe 


46 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 


the great landmarks of the Kingdom,—righteousness, 
peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,—and live to make these 
dominant in society. Let them seek the whole Kingdom 
of God in and through all the relations and institutions 
of life. In a word, let them believe the whole Gospel and 
give it an opportunity to reveal its power in the world. 


THE FINAL TEST 


The final question has to do with the actual trial of 
Christianity itself as the divine method of world redemp¬ 
tion. What does it mean to try Christianity? What 
would happen in the church and in the world if men 
should try it? Will they have the courage of tbreir faith 
and actually do the thing they approve? 

What does it mean to try Christianity? Let us admit 
that this is not as simple a matter as some people sup¬ 
pose. If Christianity were primarily a matter of church 
membership or of doctrinal conformity, it might not be 
so difficult. If Christianity were a matter of rules and 
formulas that could be applied without any thought on 
our part, the process might be more easy. But Chris¬ 
tianity is a spirit; an ideal rather than a rule or formula. 
It contains great principles which men must interpret 
and apply for themselves. It does not pretend to give 
men a ready-made answer for every question. It is rather 
a life that must be lived out according to the spirit of 
life in Christ Jesus. Further, it would be a simple mat¬ 
ter so far as the attempt is concerned, if Christianity 
were a purely formal and external matter. It would be 
easy to pass resolutions affirming this or that policy. It 
would be comparatively easy to pass laws decreeing the 
Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount. It 
might be possible if we had an army at our back, to 
drive men into the river and compel them to be baptized, 
as did Clovis and Vladimir. But these ways have proved 
ineffective in the past; and they are impossible today 
even if they were desirable. 

Our study thus far has shown us some of the mistakes 
of the past and has suggested a truer method. It has 
charted some of the false ways and blind alleys, and these 
need not be travelled today. In a negative sense, trying 
Christianity means very much more than calling Christ 
47 


48 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 


Lord, being a member of a church, keeping up one’s 
church fees, and accepting a body of doctrine. Millions 
of people who call themselves Christians think that 
Christ is the head of their order, that religion is the sum 
of the church’s observance. Many other millions think 
that it is primarily a matter of belief, the assent to cer¬ 
tain doctrines, the conduct of life according to certain 
rules. 

In a positive way trying Christianity means something 
more vital, more potent, than this. It means for a first 
thing that one come to Christ and accept him as Saviour, 
Teacher and Master, and set out to live his kind of life. 
It means that men make it their first concern to under¬ 
stand his teaching and know what he asks of them. It 
means that they seek the riches that are within, that 
they accept the cross as the law of their lives, that they 
bring all things to the test of Christ’s spirit. It means 
further, that men accept Christ’s ideal of the Kingdom 
and learn to make that Kingdom first in their plans and 
efforts. It means that men place the main emphasis 
upon the weightier matters of the Gospel,—justice, love, 
brotherhood and service,—and that they actually do 
things that Jesus has commanded. 

Then in its broader reaches it means that men accept 
the great principles of Christianity and set about the 
work of organizing life in all of its relations on the basis 
of those principles. It means that we make the ideal of 
Christ our supreme standard and that we bring every 
purpose of our lives and every process in society to the 
test of that standard. It means that we set out to 
organize industry in its ideals, its motives, its processes, 
its results, upon the basis of brotherhood and cooperation. 
It means that men actually accept the law of love and 
brotherhood, of service and self-sacrifice, of forgiveness 
and meekness, for every relation and interest of life. It 
means that they cultivate a Christian state of mind; that 
they think of others as brothers; that they forgive 
enemies; that they take an attitude of confidence and 
good will toward men of other groups and other nations ; 
that they set about the work of organizing all life in 
accord with the Kingdom and will of God. It means that 


THE FINAL TEST 


49 


men accept the sovereignty of Christ over all life and 
seek to make his spirit regnant in society. It means that 
men stand with Christ against all injustice and wrong, 
and that they join with Christ in his passion for justice 
and brotherhood. It means that we accept the Cross as 
the law r of society; that we make service and cooperation 
the objective and method of industry; that we make 
justice and brotherhood the policy of nations. In fine, 
it means that men actually try Christianity; not a part 
of it, not a substitute for it, not for their personal lives 
and churches only, but for every relation and interest of 
life. 

Let us understand the appeal and challenge in all this 
We do not complain because men of the world have not 
tried Christianity; our appeal is to those who profess 
faith in his name and are zealous for his honor. Perhaps 
we have no reason to expect that men of the world will 
honor Christ’s law and seek His Kingdom. At any rate 
they are not likely to do so till Christians show them 
what this means and whether it is worth while. But we 
have a right to ask those who bear Christ’s name to 
accept his ideal, to find out what their faith means and 
to follow wherever Christ leads. Let us understand also 
the challenge that is upon us. We do not ask Christian 
men to do impossible things. We realize fully that evil 
cannot be expelled from society by a show of hands, and 
the world cannot be transformed by an act of legislature. 
But we have a right to expect that the light will shine 
out, that the salt will actually sweeten society, that the 
yeast will leaven the lump of life. We do expect men to 
find out what Christianity means, to apply Christ’s teach¬ 
ings to every interest of society, to set about the task of 
making society Christian. We have a right to expect 
that they who pray: Our Father who are in heaven, will 
begin to think of all men as brothers and will seek to 
organize life on the basis of justice, love and brother¬ 
hood. Surely Christ has a right to ask that Christians 
shall be Christian. 

What would happen in the church and in the world if 
men should really try Christianity? Two results would 
certainly follow. 


50 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY ? 


It is certain that men would gain a new conception 
of the Living God and would have some new evidences 
of the divinity and power of the Gospel. Is Christianity 
a memory or a power? Is it primarily the record of an 
incarnation, a set of doctrines, a tradition well learned, 
a faith in past deeds of a now silent God? Or is it the 
witness of life, a living power, a vital and vitalizing 
experience, a cooperation with an ever-living God? Let 
me say frankly, that if there is a God who has been asleep 
or on a journey, saying nothing or doing nothing for 
eighteen hundred years, I have no interest in him and he 
does not appeal to me. But the God in whom Christians 
believe is the ever-living God. He was alive yesterday 
and he is alive today. He was at work yesterday and he 
is at work today. But where are the evidences of his 
power? What are his people doing to reveal his pres¬ 
ence? Let us note this, that if men are to have a 
twentieth century faith they must have a twentieth cen¬ 
tury God. First century evidence was sufficient for first 
century faith. We must have some twentieth century 
evidence if we are to have a twentieth century faith. 
Because we believe that Christianity is the truth of God, 
we are confident that Christianity, if fully tried, would 
show at once its divine origin and its redemptive power. 
Professor King in his able book “The Development of 
Religion,” shows how men come to believe in God 
through their experience of his presence or their realiza¬ 
tion of his power. “That which does not affect for good 
or ill lies, of course, outside of the pale of value-judgment, 
and is for him non-existent.” (Page 270.) Belief in God 
is the conviction which has arisen in the experience of 
some individual person or people. “The only way to 
prove any claim of theology is to show its vital relation 
to the crises of life. No one was ever convinced of the 
truths of religion in any other way.” (Ibid, p. 350.) If 
faith in God is weak in many men today it is due in large 
part to the fact that men do not permit God to function 
in their lives in any vital way. Faith in God will revive 
in the world as men try Christianity and give God oppor¬ 
tunity to reveal his power. 

It is certain also that if men set out to try Christianity 


THE FINAL TEST 


51 


some changes would soon appear in the world. Suppose 
those who call themselves Christian should set out to 
have the mind of Christ and begin to practice his words? 
Half the problem of society would simply drop out of 
sight. Civic conditions would improve a hundred fold; 
industrial strife would cease; half the racial jealousies of 
Europe and America would disappear. The leaders 
among employers and among workers, most of them, are 
Christian men. But in their dealings with one another 
they have forgotten this fact. They have stood upon 
their rights. Each group has considered the issues 
involved from its own point of view. Suppose both sides 
approached the issues in a spirit of good will and altru¬ 
ism? Suppose each should look at the question from the 
other party’s point of view and be willing to go the 
second mile? One-half of the industrial strife would 
cease at once. If Christian people would take Christ 
seriously and would begin to apply his teachings, the 
world would rise at once to a higher level and men would 
believe that God has sent his Son to be the Saviour of 
the world. 

The world today wants some new evidences of Christi¬ 
anity. We talk much of self-sacrifice and glory in the 
Cross of Christ; but what the world waits to see, is men 
and women who will actually accept the Cross and bear 
it for Christ’s sake. Let the world see the powerful and 
the privileged abjuring their power and surrendering 
their privileges that they may restore to the people their 
rights and may no longer receive unearned incomes. Let 
it see those who possess power and can command luxury, 
choosing poverty so long as their brothers are in want. 
Let it see captains of industry surrendering their privi¬ 
leges and setting out to organize industry on a coopera¬ 
tive and democratic and Christian basis. Then the world 
will begin to believe that God has spoken to the world in 
his Son. Not only so; but the world wants to see the 
great evils of the world cured and prevented. Much is 
being done in the name of Christ to lift up the fallen, to 
cheer the faint, to provide orphanages and hospitals and 
to feed the hungry at home and in other lands. All this 
is good and we do not mean to make light of it. But 


52 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 


thus far very little has been done to abolish social evils 
and deal with the causes of waste and war. Thus far 
little has been done to organize industry on a Christian 
basis and ensure industrial brotherhood. It is well to 
run a rescue mission; but first abolish the social evil. 
It is beautiful to provide a tuberculosis hospital for the 
people of the slums; but first abolish the slum itself and 
make the city sanitary. It is very beautiful to run a 
Red Cross; but today the demand is that we stop the 
diabolism of war. “The only test of the Christian religion 
which the modern world will regard as adequate, is its 
applicability to the solution of the social question.” 

It is just here that we find the real heart of our task. 
Men have not been willing to accept the will of Christ 
and make the Kingdom supreme. They have been will¬ 
ing to call Christ Lord and do some of the things he has 
commanded. But they have not been willing to give him 
the key of life and to go the whole length with him. To 
do this would disarrange their plans; it would rebuke 
their policies; it would cancel many of their privileges; 
it would make an end of monopoly; it would destroy 
their race prejudices and compel men to treat one another 
as equals; it would compel them to be just and brotherly 
in all of their ways. No doubt about it, if Christianity 
should be tried it would make some radical changes in 
society. If the Golden Rule were applied, nations would 
have to cease their land stealing and restore the lost 
liberties of weaker peoples. Is Wall Street any more pre¬ 
pared to follow Jesus than was the Sanhedrim of old? 
Would Paris or Berlin, London or Washington give Him 
a kindlier welcome than did Nazareth or Jerusalem? 

But, men say, we must be reasonable and moderate. 
The Gospel, if it were applied, would cause confusion and 
upset things. At a great meeting in one of our cities 
recently the speaker declared that if Jesus were here He 
would feel out of place in our modern complex society, 
and the great audience cheered this sentiment. We must 
do the best we can, men say; we must apply the Gospel 
little by little and wait for a more convenient season; 
God is not in a hurry and we must not be rash. There 
is just one word that can be said on this subject: if 


THE FINAL TEST 


Christianity is the power of God and the wisdom of 
God, there is an end of all controversy. We must follow 
Christ rather than take the way of the world. If modern 
society would be upset if the Gospel were applied, then 
modern society that far is wrong. But note this: It is 
not Christianity but the lack of Christianity that has 
ruined the world and caused our woes. It is the selfish¬ 
ness and greed of men, their love of power, their murders 
and wars, that have plagued mankind and blasted the 
earth. It is the spirit of confidence and good will, the 
policy of sacrifice and service, that has preserved society 
from total disruption. It is not Christianity that would 
upset things; it is the lack of Christianity that may yet 
wreck our world. The Gospel, if it were fully applied, 
would work some radical changes in society; but the 
Gospel so applied would heal society and save the 
nations. 

There is just one significant and glorious word that 
may be recorded: Christianity works; it works whenever 
and wherever it is tried. It works even with our poor 
and weak faith. It works even with our half-hearted 
obedience. It is the power of God unto salvation 
wherever it finds a receptive soul. In fact it is the only 
thing in the world that really works. Force cannot 
change men and make them love goodness. Legislation 
can do much to clear away obstacles; but at best its 
scope is limited. Education and science can do much to 
inform the mind and ameliorate man’s lot. But the 
Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of righteousness, peace 
and joy in the Holy Spirit. Christianity, the Christianity 
of Christ, works wonders wherever it is accepted and as 
far as it is tried. What would it do if men threw their 
lives open to God and were willing to go the whole length 
with Jesus Christ? “What might not Christianity do,” 
Leigh Hunt and Shelley agreed, “if it relied upon love 
and not upon dogma?” What might happen if the church 
would accept the whole Gospel and make a great adven¬ 
ture for God? And Christianity is the only thing that 
really works and performs miracles. 

There are unwasted potencies in the Gospel; there are 
infinite resources in Christ,—if only men would release 


54 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 


those potencies and give Christ’s power full opportunity 
The time has come, as a suggestive English writer says, 
to make the experiment of applied Christianity on a scale 
as large as the world. And he further says that the most 
important thing for us to do is to recover the sense that 
Christianity is an Adventure, an Enterprise, a Crusade. 
The Gospel is not a passive, static, crystallized thing; it 
is dynamic, explosive, revolutionary. In a word, the 
supreme task before the church is the simple task of 
knowing the Gospel and applying it to the whole of life. 

In view of this the course of the Christian discipleship 
is clear. It is to reconceive the meaning and purpose of 
Christianity and accept Christ’s view of things. It is 
to reconceive its mission, to unite its forces; and then in 
the name of Jesus as King, to arise and grapple with 
the great evils of our time, as poverty, disease, crime, 
misery, injustice, monopoly, war; to destroy these evils of 
darkness and build up a world of justice, brotherhood, 
health, virtue, freedom, opportunity, joy. We are not 
here to accept the world as it is; it is not our business 
to accept injustice and poverty as inevitable and neces¬ 
sary. It is our business to believe in a better, cleaner, 
more just, more Christian order, and then go forth into 
the world to challenge injustice, destroy the works of the 
devil, abolish the hells of this world and put out their 
fires by the tears of our love; make straight paths for 
men’s feet, and build our intelligence, our conscience, our 
faith and love into the whole social order and interna¬ 
tional world. It is not our business to ask whether 
Christianity is practicable. It is not for us to wonder 
what would happen if we followed Christ. Does all this 
sound strange, impracticable, Utopian? The only 
strange thing about it is that it should sound strange at 
all. We may not be able to blue print Utopia; but a 
map that has no Utopia upon it is not worth a second 
glance. 

It is Christ or chaos. After all our failure and search 
we turn to the Son of Man with a new confidence. One 
thing has become clear as we have proceeded; Jesus 
Christ is the only hope of our world. The most significant 
and challenging fact lies here; that men of all faiths and 


THE FINAL TEST 


55 


of no faith, admit this. He holds the key to the unsolved 
problems of our humanity. There is none other name 
under heaven known unto men that can bring salvation 
and help. The world has tried other physicians and is 
nothing bettered but rather has grown worse. And now 
at last, distracted and despairing, it turns to Christ for 
light and guidance. This lays upon the churches a heavy 
responsibility and summons them to a mighty task. The 
churches that bear Christ’s name and profess faith in His 
Gospel must give Jesus Christ to men and apply His 
Gospel to the whole need of the world. They must first 
of all exemplify the truth in order that they may teach 
the truth. They will then be able to present Christ as a 
living and potent Saviour. Jesus Christ is the divine 
answer to the world’s cry. In Jesus Christ, in His life 
and teaching, His sacrifice on the cross, His exaltation 
to the throne of authority, we have a sufficient salvation 
and the final Gospel. There is no other way than Christ’s 
way into the Kingdom. 

When half gods go thjen God arrives. The half gods 
of the world are dead beyond hope of resurrection. The 
religious of ecclesiasticism, of words and formulas, are 
gone, and let us hope are gone forever. The religions of 
half life, of emotion and ceremonies, of selfish individual¬ 
ism and limited range are gone beyond recovery. The 
man who supposes that the world will any longer be 
satisfied with empty forms and tribal gods, is woefully 
deceived. Let all such cheap little religions go. Give 
us- a religion of reality and power. The so-called re¬ 
deemers of men have been tried, and all have failed to 
meet the need and heal the world. There never has been 
such a crisis upon the world. There never has been such 
an opportunity before the church. The plea that Chris¬ 
tianity has never been tried may explain the failures of 
the past; but it cannot any longer be accepted as a plea 
for weakness in the future. Why has Christianity not 
been tried? Will men try it today? Says an earnest and 
passionate writer: “Men will not give religion two thou¬ 
sand years or twenty centuries more to try itself and waste 
human life. Its time is up; its probation is ended; its 


56 


WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 


own record ends it. Mankind has not eons and eternities 
to spare for trying out discredited systems.” 

Then why not try Christianity? This is the superlative 
duty upon all who profess and call themselves Christians. 
We must find out who Jesus Christ is and what he wants 
done in this world; we must then make the venture of 
faith and go the whole length with him. If his teachings 
will not work, let us know it and no longer delude our¬ 
selves. But if they are the very wisdom of God; if they 
will work in the world and are the very power of God 
unto salvation, then let us joyfully confess him as our 
Lord and go withersoever he leads. Do we really believe 
in Jesus Christ? Dare we be Christians? Do we believe 
that the meek shall inherit the earth and that love never 
faileth? Dare we forsake all other masters and measures 
and go as far as Jesus Christ goes? This is the acid test, 
the supreme challenge of our time. As we meet it shall 
we meet the test and honor Christ. 

All this requires faith, more faith than many possess. 
It requires courage, and courage of the highest kind. It 
demands faith in God, faith that this is a righteous 
universe, faith in the right of righteousness to be trium¬ 
phant, faith that there are infinite resources in the Gospel 
of Christ, faith in the redeeming power of his Cross. We 
who call ourselves Christians are not the broken frag¬ 
ments of a forlorn hope; we are. not following a Christ 
who has grown old and feeble; we are not poor dreamers 
expecting a kingdom which never shall come. We know 
whom we have believed; and we believe that the King¬ 
dom shall be his. We admit that the redemption of the 
world is a great undertaking and requires a long time 
for its full realization. But it is one thing to see the 
divine end and realize that time may elapse before the 
process is complete; and it is a different thing to say 
that nothing can be done, to confess that the idea of love 
and brotherhood will not work and accept the evils of 
the world as inevitable and give up the struggle for a 
better world. If men would only believe the Good News 
of the Kingdom and would give the truth a chance, their 
very belief would make the better order easy and would 
show the Kingdom at our very door. 


THE FINAL TEST 


And so, it all comes to this; that our supreme call is to 
cultivate the believing attitude and thus make the better 
world possible. The Kingdom of God is at hand; change 
your mind about the Gospel and its power; believe the 
Good News and make the Kingdom a reality. Today the 
cause of Christ, like Lazarus, is standing at the door of 
the tomb bound about by the graveclothes of the past. 
And once more the voice of authority is heard: “Loose 
him and let him go.” 

If the church could only catch the vision of the King¬ 
dom and could see the King in his beauty. If it would 
only hear the Master’s challenge and rise up to follow 
Him. If it would lift the standard of the Cross and 
summon to a great adventure for God. What would 
happen? All around us are men with tremendous pos¬ 
sibilities of vision and devotion who are ready to do and 
dare anything for a great cause. The church would, of 
course, have to face the cold and deadening indifference 
of those who are at ease in Zion, the sluggards and time 
servers. It would have to endure the open scorn and 
secret opposition of men of privilege and power in church 
and society who find the present system profitable and 
do not want to be disturbed in their plans. But the men 
of vision and devotion would come flocking to the stand¬ 
ard. The whole world would feel the thrill of a new life. 
Great evils would vanish out of our society. Injustice 
would hide its head and creep away to die. This genera¬ 
tion might mark a great advance toward the Kingdom 
of God. Once more might be heard the voice of the 
children in the streets singing as they go: 

“Hosanna to the Son of David. 

Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; 

Hosanna in the highest.” 








THE FELLOWSHIP FOR A CHRISTIAN 

SOCIAL ORDER* 


i 

This Fellowship binds together for mutual counsel, inspiration, and co-operation, 
men and women who are seeking to effect fundamental changes in the spirit and 
structures of the present social order through loyalty to Jesus’ way of life. 


II 

We believe that the deepest human fellowship has its necessary basis in fellowship 
with God as He is revealed in Jesus. 

III 

We believe that according to the life and teaching of Jesus, the supreme task of 
mankind is the creation of a social order, the Kingdom of God on earth, wherein the 
maximum opportunity shall be afforded for the development and enrichment of every 
human personality; in which the supreme motive shall be love; wherein men shall 
co-operate in service for the common good and brotherhood shall be a reality in all 
of the daily relationships of life. 


IV 

We must, therefore, endeavor to transform such unchristian attitudes and practices 
as now hinder fellowship: extravagant luxury for some, while many live in poverty 
and want; excessive concentration of power and privilege as a result of vast wealth 
in the hands of a few; monopoly of natural resources for private gain; autocratic 
control of industry by any group; production for individual profit and power rather 
than for social use and service; arrogance and antagonism of classes, nations and 
races; war, the final denial of brotherhood. 

V 

We believe that in the spirit and principles of Jesus is found the way of over¬ 
coming these evils, and that within the Christian Church there should be a unity of 
purpose and endeavor for the achieving of a Christian social order. By means of 
fellowship in thought and prayer we come to understand the point of view of those 
who differ from us, make possible new discoveries of truth, and aid one another in 
the solution of common problems. We believe that social changes should be effected 
through educational and spiritual processes, especially by an open-minded examination 
of existing evils and suggested solutions, full discussion and varied experimentation. 
We pledge ourselves to vigorous activity in seeking by these means a solution of the 
social problems which we face. 


VI 

The Fellowship functions through personal contact, correspondence, group meetings 
and periodic conferences—local, sectional and national. Plans for action resulting 
from these conferences will, so far as possible, be carried out through existing 
organizations, or in some manner independent of the Fellowship, since its office is not 
administrative or legislative. The Fellowship does not plan to conduct classes, open 
forums, conferences or kindred activities for non-members, nor to pass resolutions of 
any sort or go on record as endorsing or disapproving any special program or practice. 

VII 

In our desire to avoid over-organization, the structure of the Fellowship has been 
made as simple as possible. There is a National Committee of 50 members, an 
Executive Committee of 20 members, an Executive Secretary, and a Convener of each 
local group. The members of each group shall meet together from time to time with¬ 
out formal organization. The minimum of necessary expense is met by voluntary gifts. 


VIII 

Men and women who agree with the principles outlined herein, and who desire to 
co-operate with those of like mind and purpose, are invited to become members of 
the Fellowship for a Christian Social Order. 

information concerning this movement may be secured from Kirby Page, 311 
Division ave., Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. 

59 



LIGHT ON SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL 

PROBLEMS 

I. CHRISTIANITY AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS, a Discussion-Group Text 
Book, prepared for the Federal Council of Churches. Kirby Page, Editor. Facts, 
Principles, Programs. An invaluable reference book. 120 pages, cloth 50 cents. 

" r 2. FACING THE CRISIS, by Sherwood Eddy. The Fondren Lectures of 1922. 
An outgrowth of 25 years of study, observation and addresses before students in all 
parts of the United States, Europe, the Near East and the Orient. A challenging 
discussion of the vital problems of the hour—philosophical, religious, social and 
industrial. 241 pages, cloth-lined paper 50 cents, cloth $1.50. 

3. THE CHURCH AND INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION, by the Committee 
on the War and the Religious Outlook. A notable book, with chapters on the 
Christian Ideal for Society. Unchristian Aspects of the Present Industrial Order. 
Present Practicable Steps Toward a More Christian Industrial Order, Etc. 296 
pages, paper $1.00, cloth $2.00. 

4. THE ACQUISITIVE SOCIETY, by R. H. Tawney, Fellow of Balliol College, 
Oxford. A vigorous discussion of rights and functions, industry as a profession, 
property and creative work, the condition of efficiency, etc. 188 pages, cloth $1.50. 

5. THE COMING OF COAL, by Robert W. Bruere, prepared for the Federal 
Council of Churches. A most thrilling account of the significance of coal in modern 
life. An illuminating presentation of the problems in the coal industry. 123 pages, 
cloth $1.00. 

6. THE RECONSTRUCTION OF RELIGION, by Chas. A. Ellwood, Professor 
of Sociology in the University of Missouri. Contains notable chapters on the Social 
Significance of Christianity. Our Semi-Pagan Civilization, Religion and Economic 
Life, the Opportunity of the Church, etc. 323 pages, cloth $2.25. 

7. JESUS CHRIST AND THE WORLD TODAY, by Grace Hutchins and Anna 
Rochester. A most stimulating discussion of current problems in the light of the 
spirit and teaching of Jesus—fearless and yet not dogmatic. 149 pages, cloth $1.25. 

8. THE IRON MAN, by Arthur Pound. Reprinted from the Atlantic Monthly. 
An outline of the social significance of automatic machinery. Should be read by 
every student of industrial problems. 230 pages, cloth $1.75. 

9. THE NEW SOCIAL ORDER, by Professor Harry F. Ward. An outline of 
principles and programs. Contains chapters on Equality, Universal Service, 
Efficiency, Personality, Solidarity, the British Labour Party, the Churches, etc. 
Cloth $1.50. 

10. PRINCIPLES OF THE NEW ECONOMICS, by Professor Lionel E. Edie. 
An exceedingly valuable presentation of the p6int of view held by the new school of 
economists. An abundance of reference material. 525 pages, cloth $2.75. 

II. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF LABOR PROBLEMS, by Pro¬ 
fessor Gordon S. Watkins. This is probably the most useful book of its kind avail¬ 
able. Up-to-date information on a wide range of subjects. 664 pages, cloth $3.00. 

12. THE INDUSTRIAL CODE, by W. Jett Lauck and Claude S. Watts. A 
valuable discussion of the principles and structure needed to promote peace and 
efficiency in industry. Valuable appendices. 571 pages, cloth $4.00. 

13. EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES, by C. E. 
Bonnett, Professor of Economics, Tulane University. While there have been many 
books published on trade unions, this is the first comprehensive discussion of the 
activities of the leading employers associations. 594 pages, cloth $4.00. 

14. PUBLIC OPINION, by Walter Lippmann. A vivid portrayal of the dangers 
of propaganda and a discussion of methods of forming public opinion. An impor¬ 
tant book on an important subject. 427 pages, cloth $2.25. 

15. PROPERTY, by the Bishop of Oxford and others. Contains stimulating 

chapters on the Evolution of Property, the Principle of Private Property, the 
Biblical and Early Christian Idea of Property, Property and Personality. 229 oatre^ 
cloth $2.00. ’ 

16. HUMAN NATURE AND CONDUCT, by Professor John Dewey. An intro¬ 
duction to social psychology. Contains a notable chapter on Changing Human 
Nature. 336 pages, cloth $2.25. 


Any of these books may be ordered from 
ASSOCIATION PRESS 


347 Madison Avenue 


New York 


60 


CHRISTIANITY AND ECONOMIC 

PROBLEMS 


A DISCUSSION GROUP TEXT-BOOK 


Prepared, by 


KIRBY PAGE, CHAIRMAN 
LESLIE BLANCHARD 
SHERWOOD EDDY 
HARRISON S. ELLIOTT 


F. ERNEST JOHNSON 
DAVID R. PORTER 
OLIVE VAN HORN 
FLORENCE SIMMS 


For the Educational Committee, Commission on the Church and Social Service of the 


FEDERAL COUNCIL OF THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN AMERICA 

CONTENTS 

Chapter 1—A DIVIDED WORLD. 

In what quarters is the present economic order being challenged? Where are the 
points of friction? What are the consequences of a divided world? 

Chapter 2—POVERTY—MISFORTUNE OR BLESSING? 

What are the advantages of being poor? What are the disadvantages? What does 
Jesus teach concerning poverty? 

Chapter 3—IS POVERTY A SERIOUS PROBLEM? 

Are the wages of the lowest paid workers sufficient to maintain a family in health 
and decency? What proportion of workers are receiving low wages? Is the national 
income sufficient to provide plenty for all? 

Chapter 4—DO GREAT FORTUNES HELP OR HINDER SOCIAL PROGRESS? 

What are the chief sources of riches in the United States? In what ways are great 
fortunes a social asset? What are the dangers of great fortunes? 

Chapter 5—ARE LUXURIES ANTAGONISTIC TO PUBLIC WELFARE? 

How much does a family need? 

Is there enough to go around? 

What are the effects of luxury? 

Chapter 6—DOES MODERN INDUSTRY HELP OR HINDER THE FULL DE¬ 
VELOPMENT OF HUMAN BEINGS? 

What are the benefits of modern industry? What are the human costs of modern 
industry ? 

Chapter 7—WHY IS THERE NOT ENOUGH TO GO AROUND? 

Why is present production inadequate? 

Who is chiefly responsible, manager or workers? 

Chapter 8—HOW CAN INDUSTRY BE MADE TO PRODUCE MORE GOODS 
AND BETTER PEOPLE? 

Is production for private profit a more impelling motive than production for social 
use? • What steps are being taken to stabilize industry? How can more cordial human 
relations in industry be promoted? 

Chapter 9 —WHAT CHANGES IN CONTROL MOULD MOST BENEFIT 
INDUSTRY? 

What are the merits of control by owners and stockholders? By employes’ represen¬ 
tation? By the workers? By the consumers? 

Chapter 10—WHAT DEGREE OF PUBLIC CONTROL OF INDUSTRY WILL 
BEST PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE ? 

What kinds of public control of industry are now being exercised in the United 
States? Is public control increasing or decreasing? What further extensions of public 
control are desirable? 

Chapter 11-HOW RAPIDLY CAN A CHRISTIAN ECONOMIC ORDER BE 
ACHIEVED? 

Is a Christian economic order practicable? What are the Churches doing in the 
realm of industry? What is the evidence for and against speedy progress in the 
achievement of a Christian economic order? 

120 pages, cloth, 50 cents. Association Press, 347 Madison Ave., New York. 

61 


CHRISTIANITY AND ECONOMIC 
PROBLEMS 

Facts, Principles, Programs 

A DISCUSSION GROUP TEXT-BOOK 

Harry Emerson Fosdick, First Presbyterian Church, New York City. 

Allow me to express my very warm commendation of this fine piece 
of work. It seems to me thoroughly and carefully done, and in han¬ 
dling the difficult problems with which it deals, I think a very unusual 
balance of judgment has been sustained. It seems to me to be one of 
the very best mediums we have in our possession now to introduce an 
inquiring mind into the Christian attitude toward social and economic 
problems. 

Bishop Charles D. Williams, Protestant Episcopal Church, Detroit, 
Michigan. 

I have read with great interest and profit the advance sheets of 
Christianity and Economic Problems. It is an excellent piece of work. 
I hope it may be widely used in conference groups and in study classes 
in our churches. Christians everywhere today need especially not only 
an awakened conscience but an informed understanding on the applica¬ 
tion of the gospel to our economic problems, particularly in this day 
of supreme crisis. This work has evidently been done with great care 
and evinces not only a thorough grasp of the question but a fine balance 
and fairness of judgment. 

Bishop Francis J. McConnell, Methodist Episcopal Church, Pitts¬ 
burgh, Pa. 

After reading the whole work carefully, I wish to express my great 
satisfaction with its thoroughness, fairness and suggestiveness. It is 
quickening and stimulating as well as informing. The treatment is 
both in line with Christianity and Economics. That is to say the 
bearing of the book is such that the human values are kept in clear 
view while there is the most thorough recognition of industrial and 
social facts as such. The temper is at once humanitarian and scientific. 
I wish that all ministers could be familiar with this work. 

Alva W. Taylor, Social Service Secretary of the Disciples. 

Up-to-date, meaty, authoritative. Nothing better has been written 
for class and group discussion. It hews to the line, is not biased, 
unflinchingly faces the human problems involved in modern industry. 
Gives fundamental facts on such social problems as poverty, great 
fortunes and social progress, luxuries, modern industry and human 
development, national income and the cost of living, changes in con¬ 
trol that would improve conditions, and discusses how a more Christian 
order can be achieved. 

Richard Roberts, American Presbyterian Church, Montreal. 

This book seems to me to be altogether admirable. Its method and 
matter could only with very great difficulty be improved upon; and 
its courage and thoroughness are worthy of its great purpose. I hope 
it will have wide and serious study. 


62 


Arthur E. Holt, Congregational Social Service Secretary. 

Dr. Holt regards this book so highly that he sent out a special letter 
to 5,000 Congregational ministers in which he said: “You are wonder¬ 
ing what book you can use for discussion groups this fall. Will you 
allow me to suggest one which I wish could be put in the hands of 
every pastor? It bears the title “Christianity and Economic Problems.” 
The chapter headings are as follows:” 


Lynn Harold Hough, Central Methodist Episcopal Church, Detroit. 

I have read all of it. It interests me very much, and I hope that it 
will have the widest possible circulation and very general use as a basis 
for class work. Whatever a man’s opinions, this volume will bring him 
into contact with facts which he ought to know and passages which he 
ought to understand. 


James M. Mullan, Social Service Secretary of the Reformed Church. 

I am heartily in agreement with the approach made to the problems 
under discussion. It is clearly evident that the book is what it claims 
to be: a study course and not propaganda. I am much impressed with 
the amount of information the book contains and the carefulness of 
statement indicated throughout. The questions for discussion are 
searching and will lead to further investigation on the part of those 
who study the course and provoke earnest thought. 


Cleland B. McAfee, McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago. 

During the summer I received a copy of Christianity and Economic 
Problems. I write to say that I have used it in my writing of the Sun¬ 
day School Lessons of 1923 to what I hope will prove to be great 
advantage, and that I have been impressed in all my reading of the 
little book with its balance and fair presentation of the complicated 
problems of today. I trust that it may be widely used in discussion 
groups. 


Federal Council Book Review Service 

Under this title appears the second of the “Social Problem Discussion 
Series” prepared by the Federal Council’s Educational Committee and 
published by the Association Press. It is intended for discussion groups 
in church and Christian associations. The text analyzes the social 
problems presented by the unequal distribution of wealth, privilege 
and power, by the extent of luxurious living and by the dominance 
of the profit motive and of autocratic rule in industry. These ques¬ 
tions are approached in a non-technical way, from the point of view 
of Christian principles and without dogmatic adherence to any particu¬ 
lar proposed remedy. The course, like the first of the series—“What 
Is The Christian View of Work and Wealth?”—is aimed at securing 
intelligent discussion of the problems presented, not at advancing any 
particular solution. The same kind of discussion has been employed 
in making it that the committee hopes to provoke through its use. 


63 


Christianity and Industry 


96th Thousand 


library of congress 


0 038 701 915 7 


GEORGE n. DORAN COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 
244 MADISON AVENUE NEW YORK 


No. 1—INDUSTRIAL FACTS, by Kirby Page. 

Concrete data concerning industrial problems and proposed solutions. 

32 Pages—10 Cents Net 

No. 2— COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, by Kirby Page. 

An ethical evaluation of some phases of trade unionism and the open- 
shop movement. 

32 Pages—10 Cents Net 


No. 3 —FELLOWSHIP, by Basil Mathews and Harry Bisseker. 

Preface by Sherwood Eddy. 

A consideration of fellowship as a means of building the Christian 
social order. 

* 32 Pages—10 C.nts Net 

No. 4— THE SWORD OR THE CROSS, by Kirby Page. 

A consideration of the ethics of war between nations and between 
classes; an analysis of Jesus’ way of life. 

6If Pages—15 Cents Net (Regular Edition, $1.20) 

No. 5—THE UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION, by Kirby 
Page. 

Reprinted from The Atlantic Monthly, May, 1922. 

An analysis of the social consequences of modern business policies. 

32 Pages—10 Cents Net 

No. 6—AMERICA: ITS PROBLEMS AND PERILS, by Sherwood Eddy. 
An analysis of outstanding social, industrial, and racial problems. 

32 Pages—10 Cents Net 

No. 7— INCENTIVES IN MODERN LIFE, by Kirby Page. 

Are the motives of Jesus practicable in modern business and professional 
life? 

32 Pages—10 Cents Net 


No. 8— INDUSTRIAL UNREST: A WAY OUT, by B. Seebohm Rowntree. 
Practical suggestions by an employer of 7,000 workers. 

32 Pages—10 Cents Net 


No. 9—THE ECONOMIC ORDER: WHAT IS IT? WHAT IS IT WORTH? 
by Professor John H. Gray. 

56 Pages—10 Cents Net. 


No. 10-WHY NOT TRY CHRISTIANITY? 

by Samuel Zane Batten 

64 Pages—15 Cents Net. 

Persons desiring quantities of these pamphlets for use in classes, discus¬ 
sion groups or open forums, or for distribution among their friends, may secure 
copies of Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 at the rate of 70 cents for ten copies or 
$6.00 per hundred, postpaid, and copies of No. 4 in lots of five at 10 cents each, 
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